What are the worst finds in the asset management sector for British investors? The most recent semiannual study by Bestinvest (“Spot the Dog,” Autumn 2011) counted 94 of them, up from 90 in the past two editions of the study. More presicely, 14% of funds in the sample (94 out of 682) did not manage to outperform their benchmark indices in any of the past three years, and underperformed the benchmark by at least 10%. This increase is connected to a much more worrisome development: the entry into the rankings of less well-performing funds from some of the management firms which are supposed to be among the circle of top quality managers has led to a 74% increase in the value of the funds concerned, to GBP23.16bn, from GBP13.29bn in September 2010. The sectors monitored by Bestinvest are UK all companies, UK equity income, UK smaller companies, Europe ex-UK, global emerging markets, Asia Pacific, North American, Japan and global. The management firms topping the list are Fidelity, with 2 funds, totalling GBP3.41bn, BNY Mellon/Newton with 4 funds and GBP2.05bn, and BlackRock with 2 funds and GBP1.99bn. The worst-performing fund according to the Bestinvest criteria is the Allianz RCM Global ecotrends (GBP11.7m), which is 41% behind its benchmark index over three years.

The independent financial analysis provider Morningstar announced on 30 August that it has created 18 new categories in order to better categorise alternative management funds which comply with UCITS requirements. “The new Morningstar categories for hedge funds represent a significant modernisation for the Morningstar categorisation for open-ended funds that use alternative investment strategies. It gives investors a clear description of the strategies deployed by managers,” a statement from Morningstar says.In particular, the new classifications are abandoning the term “absolute returns,” the statement says. According to Christopher Traulsen, CFA, director of fund research for Europe and Asia at Morningstar, “Absolute Returns had become too closely associated with a wider marketing term in the industry which made promises of returns that often failed to come true. In order to make our categories more useful and more transparent for investors, we have revised our classification system to better categorise alternative management funds according to their investment strategy.”The underlying portfolio and exposure to risk are the major factors to determine the category. Then, geographical region, asset class and specific investment strategies may be even more finely subdivided. For example, the strategies “Alt – Debt Arbitrage,” “Alt – Global Macro,” “Alt – Market Neutral – Equities,” and “Alt – Volatility” now represent specific categories.The former categories “Absolute Returns Euro, Absolute Returns Non-Euro and Long/Short” are being dropped, and will be replaced by the following more detailed classifications:Alt – Debt ArbitrageAlt – Diversified ArbitrageAlt – CurrenciesAlt – Event DrivenAlt – Funds of Funds – EquitiesAlt – Funds of Funds – OtherAlt – Funds of Funds – MultistrategyAlt – Global MacroAlt – Long/Short Equities – EuropeAlt – Long/Short Equities – InternationalAlt – Long/Short Equities – Emerging MarketsAlt – Long/Short Equities – UKAlt – Long/Short Equities – USAlt – Long/Short BondsAlt – Market Neutral – EquitiesAlt – MultistrategyAlt – Systematic FuturesAlt – VolatilityThe new categories will be used by Morningstar in Europe and Asia, and the classification system will also be used for hedge funds in the open-ended fund data base and for funds in the database dedicated to non-UCITS hedge funds. Investors will thus be more easily able to compare the two fund universes.Morningstar is making the new fund categories available on Morningstar Direct, the financial research and analysis software tool designed by Morningstar for professional investors, and also on its public website, http://www.agefi.fr/backoffice/scripts/www.morningstar.fr.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index for August 2011 declined to 89.6 in August, down 12.9 points from July’s revised reading of 102.5. The most significant decline was exhibited by North American investors, with confidence decreasing to 88.6, down 13.9 points from July’s revised level of 102.5. Declines were more muted elsewhere with the European Index sliding 4.6 points to 90.5, down from July’s revised reading of 95.1. Amongst Asian investors, confidence decreased 0.6 points from July’s revised level of 95.8, to 95.2. “Perhaps not surprisingly, the elevated level of volatility this month took its toll on investor sentiment,” commented State Street. “Diminished growth expectations, the downgrade of the US sovereign debt rating, and continued difficulties around European sovereign financing, all combined to cause institutional investors to reduce their allocations to risky assets. The key question that investors are grappling with is whether elevated levels of stress in the financial system will have real effects on the economy.”

BNP Paribas is hoping to increase its presence in wealth management in China, continuing its efforts to concentrate on high-potential markets. The French bank has recruited Alfred Tsai for its Wealth Management division. Tsai, who resigned from his position as managing director at Julius Baer in Hong Kong last month, will join the group in October, in order to direct BNP Paribas Wealth Management China, Asian Investor reports.

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, with EUR39.4 billion of assets under management as at March 2011, has announced that it has appointed Henrik Bastman as Nordic head of asset management. Based in Stockholm and reporting to Alphons Spaninks, AXA Real Estate’s regional head of property services group for Benelux and Nordics, he will be responsible for sourcing acquisitions and effecting appropriate disposals in the Nordics, in line with the best strategy for each client or fund mandate in the region. He will also oversee the in-house team responsible for the delivery of asset management plans to maximise the value of individual properties. Henrik Bastman joins from EFM, where he was head of asset management for the EUR1 billion Nordic Retail Fund, which has Cornerstone as the fund manager. Before that he spent seven years at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he was an associate director in its Stockholm office, specialising in the retail market. He began his career in the banking sector at JP Morgan in London. AXA Real Estate manages approximately EUR1 billion of assets across the Nordics

In first half, Robeco (Rabobank group) attracted EUR4.9bn in net subscriptions, of which EUR2.3bn came from institutional investors, IPE reports. Net profits rose to EUR100m, from EUR43m in the corresponding period of last year.Performance was satisfactory overall, with 8-9% for equities, and bonds earning between 1% and 3%. But since then, the performance of equities nosedived. Roderick Munsters, CEO, predicts that due to the selloff in recent weeks, the level of assets at the end of the year will be lower than expectations, which will have a negative impact on revenues in 2012 and will make it all the more urgent to reduce costs.

The Banque Privée de Gérance (VP Bank) on 30 August announced that in first half 2011, it earned gross profits of CHF19.4m, an increase of nearly 20% compared with the previous year in the same period. Profits payable to shareholders increased 25% to CHF18.1m. First half 2011 brought a net inflows of CHF287.4m, compared with a net outflow of CHF346.2m one year previously. Assets under management as of the end of June totalled CHF27.2bn, compared with CHF28.2bn as of the end of December 2010.

HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) SA in first half 2011 posted a net inflows of CHF6.2bn, largely from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This 26% increase compared with the first six months of last year resulted in a decline in client assets under management of CHF9.4bn, to CHF177bn, compared with CHF186.4bn last year. The cause of this development is depreciation of foreign currencies against the Swiss franc. At constant exchange rates, the underlying performance of client assets under management has increased by 3% since the end of 2010, according to a statement from the Geneva-based affiliate of the London-based banking group, released on 30 August. Pre-tax profits fell 34% to CHF248m (+3% at constant exchange rates, at CHF386m).

The Swiss alternative management firm Altin has posted a loss for first half 2011 of USD1.80m, compared with a loss of USD2.58m in first half 2010, the firm announced in a statement on 30 August.As of the end of June, the “extremely well-diversified” portfolio included 35 positions in hedge funds pursuing 10 different investment strategies. Due to active management of strategies and good selection of managers, the firm says that it was able to protect its investors’ portfolios, and that it comfortably outperformed the HFRI FoF Composite and MSCI World Hedged indices, with annualised returns of +7.18% since its launch.

The Chinese regulator (CSRC) on 30 August issued a fund management license to Chang’an Fund Management Company, which becomes the fifth organisation to receive such a license since the beginning of the year, and the 67th since the CSRC began to issue licenses of this type. Chang’an has capital of CNY100m, Z-Ben Advisors states.The shareholders in the asset management firm are Xi’an International Trust, with a 49% stake, the apparel manufacturer Metersbonwe, with 33%, and China Southern Industries, with the remaining 18%. The latter company has also since last month held a 10% stake in the largest fund management firm in the country, China AMC.

HSH Nordbank has sold a portfolio of 47 stakes in European private equity funds, which have total assets of EUR620m, for an undisclosed amount, to a group of investors consisting of Axa Private Equity and LGT Capital Partners.The Hamburg-based bank states that as a part of the asset sale process, it already sold its stakes in four funds with a total volume of EUR47m to two “international investors” in early August.

For first half 2011, the German SRI investment advising firm versiko (which controls the Luxembourg-based asset management firm Ökoworld Lux) posted net profits of EUR1.15m, compared with EUR1.5m, but profits on the balance sheet increased to EUR5.08m from EUR2.34m.Owners’ equity at versiko represents 70% of the balance sheet.

Viel & Cie on 31 August announced that its consolidated net profits totalled EUR12.3m in first half 2011, compared with EUR37.5m in first half 2010, on earnings down 3% to EUR456.9m. “First half 2011 saw a continuation of professional intermediation activities at the Compagnie Financière Tradition at consistent levels, but results were penalised by ongoing restructuring of activities aimed at individual investors in Japan,” the firm says in a statement. Consolidated operating profits totalled EUR21.6m in first half 2011, compared with EUR52.4m in first half 2010. Viel & Cie has announced a one-time net profit of EUR24.2m related to the sale of a real estate property by one of its affiliates in 2010. Excluding one-time elements in 2010, operating profits remain relatively stable in first half 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. The firm states that private banking activities with SwissLife Banque Privée, in which Viel owns a 40% stake, continued to grow, and included the acquisition of a stake in the management firm Prigest (which manages the Valfrance fund, among others), a sign of its desire to continue accelerated growth of this activity.

David Masse, head of clients, reporting and performance measurement at Russell Investments in Paris since 2003, is joining Invesco Asset Management as head of Client Services for France.He replaces Lionel Bonnin, who becomes head of development for distribution projects in continental Europe, also at Invesco AM.Nicolas Bouët, co-CEO of Invesco AM, says the recruitment of Masse is a sign of the firm’s desire to be present “as closely as possible to its clients, French professional investors.”

The British management firm Schroders has announced that it has registered the fifth fund of its GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access) platform in Spain, Funds People reports. Following the third-party funds Schroder GAIA Egerton European Equity and Schroder GAIA Sloane Robinson Emerging Markets, and the inhouse funds Schroder GAIA Opus Multi-Strategy and Schroder GAIA QEP Global Absolute, the CNMV has issued a registration for the GAIA CQS Credit (LU0616010236), which already has a sales license in France (see Newsmanagers of 11 July).

On 25 August, the CNMV issued a license for the Luxembourg-registered Sicav JKC Fund, which includes the sub-funds LFP JKC China Value and LFP JKC Asia Value. The management firm is UFG-LFP International, and the “investment manager” is JK Capital Management Ltd. of Hong Kong. Sales of the fund will be provided by Allfunds Bank and Banco Inversis, the Spanish regulator states.

The Swiss management firm Capital International Funds (CIF), an affiliate of the Capital Group of Companies, has become the twelfth foreign asset management firm since the beginning of the year to register in Spain.On 25 August, the CNMV issued a registration for three Luxembourg Sicavs from CIF: Capital International Emerging Markets Fund (EUR6.14bn), Capital International Fund, which includes nine bond and equities sub-funds focused on geographical regions, and Capital International Portfolios, with five equities and bond sub-funds focused on developed and emerging countries.The distributor selected for the three Sicavs is Allfunds Bank.

The US-based management group Legg Mason will launch an income fund dedicated to US equities, which will be managed by ClearBridge Advisors, Money Marketing reports. The fund, which will be launched in mid-October, will replicate a strategy previously available to US investors. The management team for the fund (Hersh Cohen, Peter Vanderlee and Michael Clarfeld) will concentrate on high-quality firms which adhere to a policy of paying out high dividends. ClearBridge Advisors is the largest affiliate of Legg Mason dedicated to US equities, with assets under management of USD36bn.

Rosanna Burcheri, who had been a partner and manager of pan-European funds at FrontPoint Management, has been recruited by Artemis Asset Management as co-manager of its new Global Select fund (GBP41.9m). For this product, Artemis had already recruited Simon Edelsten, formerly of Taube Hodson Stonex (THS), and Alex Illingworth, formerly of Insight Investment, as managers.

Portfolio Adviser reports that Legg Mason is planning to release the ClearBridge US Income Fund to UK retail investors from October; the fund will replicate the US Equity Income Builder, managed by its US affiliate ClearBridge Advisors (USD58.1bn) in the United States. The managers of the new product will focus on companies which pay high dividends. The managers will be the same as for the original fund: Hersh Cohen, Michael Clarfeld, and Peter Vanderlee.

The alternative management firm Carlisle Management Company, based in Luxembourg, has appointed Victor Heggelman as chief financial officer of the company, from September 2011. Heggelman previously spent two years in the financial department of Carlisle.

Dans un entretien paru dans Option Finance, le directeur général adjoint en charge des finances de GDF Suez, Gérard Lamarche, revient sur les mesures mises en place suite aux forts mouvements de marchés cet été. Nous avons adopté un reporting renforcé, en temps réel, notamment en ce qui concerne la liquidité du groupe. La politique de gestion du risque de contrepartie a quant à elle été renforcée en 2008, que ce soit en matière de cash management, ou d’opérations sur dérivés. Cette procédure, validée par le comité d’audit et le conseil d’administration du groupe, n’a pas été assouplie depuis (sauf modification à la marge). Elle prend en compte trois principaux paramètres; l'évolution des CDS de nos contreparties, leurs notations et les fluctuations de leur cours de Bourse. En fonction de leur évolution, notre exposition à une contrepartie est automatiquement et immédiatement réduite. Nous avons donc procédé à des ajustements de nos placements au cours de l'été. Cependant, ces mouvements de réallocations ont débuté bien avant et ont lieu depuis un an, dans le contexte d’aggravation de la crise grecque. De plus, depuis 2008, nous avons systématisé la mise en place de contrats CSA (Credit Support Agreement), c’est à dire des contrats de collatéralisation, avec nos contreparties bancaires pour toutes nos transactions de dérivés. Ils ont précisément pour objectif de réduire notre risque de contrepartie en cas de défaut de l’une d’entre elles, grâce à un mécanisme d’appel de marge régulier et généralisé. Enfin, le contexte actuel nous incite à diversifier d’autant plus nos ressources bancaires. Ainsi, peu après la publication de nos résultats le 10 août dernier, nous avons annoncé la signature d’un partenariat industriel et financier avec le fonds chinois China Investment Corporation (CIC), qui va investir 2.3 milliards d’euros dans les activités Exploration-Production du groupe, ainsi qu’un partenariat avec la banque ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) pour accompagner le développement et le financement de l’activité du groupe en Asie. Notre ambition est d’incorporer cette banque chinoise, et à l’avenir d’autres banques appartenant aux BRIC, dans notre pool de banque de référence.

Le fonds d’investissement annonce une prise de participation à hauteur de 60% dans le capital de Captain Tortue, leader européen de la vente directe en réunions de prêt-à-porter. La société a réalisé l’an dernier un chiffre d’affaires d’environ 55 millions d’euros. Defi Gestion et BNP Développement réinvestissent dans le groupe aux cotés de L Capital et des fondateurs.

Le gouvernement a relevé de 3,4 milliards d’euros sa prévision de déficit budgétaire à 95,7 milliards fin 2011, selon le site internet du Figaro. Cette dégradation s’explique par une prévision de recettes inférieure de 3 milliards d’euros à ce qui était espéré et par une hausse de 1,4 milliard de la charge de la dette en raison de l’accélération de l’inflation.

Le gouvernement socialiste et le Parti populaire (PP) d’opposition ont annoncé hier s'être mis d’accord pour organiser vendredi un débat au parlement sur l’amendement visant à plafonner le déficit structurel du pays à 0,4% du produit intérieur brut (PIB) sur la durée d’un cycle économique.

En raison de l’appréciation du yen et d’un ralentissement de la demande sur ses marchés étrangers, la production industrielle du Japon a augmenté de seulement 0,6% en juillet d’un mois sur l’autre, un niveau plus de deux fois inférieur aux attentes des économistes. Cette croissance, la plus faible depuis mars dernier, fait suite à une progression de 3,8% réalisée en juin.

Varsovie a enregistré un produit intérieur brut (PIB) en hausse de 4,3% au deuxième trimestre. Au premier trimestre, la croissance avait été de 4,4%. La progression des investissements a été de 7,8% sur la période avril-juin contre une augmentation de 6,0% sur les trois premiers mois de l’année. Mais les économistes estiment que la hausse du zloty contre euro menace la croissance polonaise au prochain trimestre. Les exportations polonaises représentent environ 40% du PIB du pays, dont la moitié provient de ses échanges avec ses voisins de l’est.

Le produit intérieur brut (PIB) de la troisième économie d’Asie a crû de 7,7% sur la période avril-juin, alors que le consensus dégagé par Reuters donnait 7,6%, après 7,8% le trimestre précédent. Il s’agit de la croissance la plus faible en six trimestres même si le pays a dépassé les prévisions, ce qui amène à penser que la banque centrale du pays continuera de relever les taux d’intérêt pour tenter de maîtriser l’inflation. La prochaine réunion de l’institut d'émission indien est prévue le 16 septembre. La banque centrale a augmenté les taux à 11 reprises depuis le mars 2010, dont un relèvement plus important que prévu d’un demi-point le mois dernier. Le 1er août, le Conseil économique du Premier ministre a baissé sa prévision de croissance pour l’année fiscale en cours, de 9% à 8,2%. Sur l’exercice fiscal annuel clos le 31 mars dernier, l’Inde avait enregistré une croissance de 8,5%.

L’indice de confiance du consommateur américain publié par la fédération patronale Conference Board est tombé à 44,5 en août, après 59,2 (révisé de 59,5) au mois de juillet. Le consensus médian des analystes interrogés par Reuters laissait prévoir un indice à 52,0. La composante de la conjoncture actuelle tombe à 33,3 points après 35,7 en juillet. Concernant l’emploi, les ménages américains sont 49,1% à estimer en août qu’il est difficile de se procurer un emploi, contre 44,8% en juillet.

Un franc fort et des perspectives mondiales incertaines rendent les Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (PME) suisses pessimistes, selon une étude d’Ernst & Young. Sur les 300 sociétés interrogées en août, 64% pensent que la situation économique va se dégrader, alors qu’elles n'étaient que 11% en juillet. Elles ne sont que 8% à anticiper une amélioration.