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13/07/2011

Ecostamp.de conducts a survey of the sustainability characteristics of equities funds

The sustainable development website ecostamp.de on the morning of 12 July concluded a survey of internet users and savings investors about sustainable investment criteria which they feel equities funds and products worthy of a sustainable investment label should have. It will take at least a few days to process the results.The idea was to gather responses not only from promoters of products about their conception of SRI and sustainable development, but also to ask “real people” who would be buying shares in the funds, since the market lacks both transparency and standards.The website ecostamp.de is seeking to create a dialogue between investors/consumers and producers of these products.
13/07/2011

Ökorenta gets a new director of institutional distribution

The head of distribution of closed funds for the eFonds 24 network, Tim Helm, in early July joined the German SRI management firm Ökorenta. He will be director of distribution for closed funds to institutional investors and key accounts. He will also participate in the development of new fund concepts.
13/07/2011

Cerberus restructures debt on hotel portfolio

The Wall Street Journal reports that Cerberus Capital Management has obtained a restructuring from its lenders of debt on its USD1.3bn portfolio of six luxury hotel complexes. Among the properties in the “Kyo-ya” portfolio are the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, the Palance Hotel in San Francisco, and the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Honolulu. Cerberus has obtained a two-year extension on repayment of USD77m in principal.The deal is a sign that investors are regaining confidence in the hospitality sector, and that valuation of properties in May actually valued the Kyo-ya portfolio at USD1.8bn.
13/07/2011

Dalton hard-closes its European absolute returns fund

The Luxembourg-registered, UCITS-compliant fund Melchior Selected Trust European Absolute Return (MSTEARF), launched on 2 February 2010, now has USD600m in assets. Dalton Strategic partnership has announced a hard closing, following a soft closing at USD500m in early June. Citywire reports that the additional USD100m represent additional net subscriptions form investors who were already clients of the fund.As usual in cases of this type, the manager says that the hard closing of the absolute returns fund, managed by Leonard Charlton, David Robinson and Benjamin Millard, aims to protect performance, which might be diluted as a result of the arrival of further subscriptions.
13/07/2011

BayernInvest launches an emerging markets debt fund

The Bavarian firm BayernInvest on 6 July launched an emerging markets debt fund for institutional investors. It is legally a “semi-passive” open-ended, UCITS-compliant fund, whose benchmark index is the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index, using the stratified sampling method, so that representative issues of the index represent only 50% of the portfolio. The management team will focus on heavyweights of the index, and will optimise the process with a per-country allocation. Currencies exposure corresponds to bonds denominated in US dollars, but there are also share classes hedged for currency risks in US dollars and euros, and a non-hedged class in euros.CharacteristicsName: BayernInvest Emerging Markets Select Bond FondsISIN codes: DE000A1C78A0 (USD)DE000A1C778CE (EUR-hedged)DE000A1C78D4Front-end fee: 5% maximum (currently 3%)Redemption commission: 5% maximum (currently 3%)Management commission:USD: 0.40%EUR-hedged: 0.43%EUR-unhedged: 0.40%Depository banking commission: 0.05%Minimal subscription: EUR25,000Daily liquidity
13/07/2011

ETF Securities lists a copper ETC on the Frankfurt stock exchange

The British management firm ETF Securities (ETFS) has listed a German-registered ETC denominated in euros and trading in copper (DE000A1K3AZ2), which charges fees of 0.69%, on the Xetra platform of the Deutsche Börse.The fund is the ETFS Physical Copper (acronym PHCU), which invests in physical metal stored at the London Metal Exchange (LME). Annual insurance contribution is 0.12%. The benchmark is the price of copper on the LME (cash settlement).
13/07/2011

US government debt: Pimco returns to full speed ahead

Bill Gross, manager of the Pimco Total Return Fund (USD244bn), in June increased its exposure to US government bonds for the second consecutive month, as investors sought safety in Treasuries, the Financial Times reports. Allocation to these securities has become neutral, and the duration of the portfolio has been adjusted since the end of May to more closely resemble the Barclays Aggregate Bond index.
13/07/2011

New head of strategy at Crédit Agricole S.A.

Crédit Agricole S.A. on Thursday, 11 July announced the arrival of Julien Fontaine as director of strategy. He will report to Michel Mathieu, deputy CEO of Crédit Agricole S.A., in charge of central funds of the group, insurance, and asset management. Fontaine will begin in his new position on 1 September 2011.Fontaine, 39, was previously at McKinsey & Company, where since 2009 he had been associate director in charge of financial services.
13/07/2011

Carmignac Gestion modifies governance

Agefi reports that Eric Le Coz, a member of the investment committee and supervisor of the risk, reporting and product engineering departments at Carmignac Gestion since 2007, has been appointed as deputy CEO.Le Coz will coordinate the management team, alongside Edouard Carmignac, founder and president of the firm, and will work to define performance objectives and improve risk analysis methodology for products, but will not influence the strategies and convictions of the managers, the firm says.The promotion of Le Coz may also reassure observers who were concerned that the management firm had become too dependent on its president, the newspaper notes. At 63, Carmignac is co-manager of Carmignac Patrimoine, and the sole manager of Carmignac Investissement, the firm’s two largest funds. The management firm has suffered from a fall in returns for its flagship funds, and in first half 2011 saw outflows of EUR4.67bn from French-registered funds.
13/07/2011

Zencap AM planning a new fund for 2012

As the first fund from Zencap AM, an affiliate of the OFI group (see Newsmanagers of 12 July) which primarily invests in over-the-counter structured products from banks which aim to meet regulatory capital requirements, has been closed to subscriptions, the OFI AM affiliate is now planning to create at least one new vehicle in 2012, Agefi reports.The new product could involve long/short strategies. “When we are more sure of slightly higher prices on the market and a slightly more advanced stage in the credit cycle, it will be time to seek coverage with short positions on other types of assets,” Richard Jacquet, president of Zencap AM, explains to the newspaper.
13/07/2011

iShares registers a local currencies emerging markets debt ETF

iShares on Tuesday, 12 July, announced that it has registered the iShares physical replication fund Barclays Capital Emerging Market Local Govt Bond, which has already been listed on the London Stock Exchange since June 2011, in France.Taking advantage of the fact that many emerging countries issue bonds in two forms, one denominated in US dollars and one in local currency, with different risk and return profiles, the new iShares fund offers exposure to government debts at fixed interest rates and local currencies from emerging markets. The iShares Barclays Capital Emerging Market Local Govt Bond fund offers investors diversified exposure to debt from eight emerging countries.The iShares Barclays Capital Emerging Market Local Govt Bond fund comes as an addition to the product range from iShares, which already offers the iShares JPMorgan $ Emerging Market Bond.
13/07/2011

Pimco launches a bond fund which seeks to minimise interest rate risks

Pimco has launched the Pimco GIS Siversified Income Duration Hedged Fund, whose objective is to provide investors with a support that will allow them to better manage increases in interest rates while offering diversified exposure to international credit markets.The fund adopts a flexible approach, which allows it to invest in several segments of the bond market, including investment grade and high yield corporate bonds, emerging markets debt, bank loans, convertible bonds, municipal bonds, and securitisations. It seeks to minimise interest rate risks by preferring securities with a floating and variable interest rate, short durations, and a combination of fixed-rate securities and derivative instruments.The fund is managed by Eve Tournier, executive vice-president and specialist manager of corporate bonds and bank loans.CharacteristicsName: PIMCO GIS Diversified Income Duration Hedged FundISIN codes: IE00B529XP53 (Part I)/ IE00B5MZQB05) (Part P)
13/07/2011

Aberdeen takes over two more Credit Suisse funds

In a SEC filing dated 1 July, Credit Suisse Capital Funds announced that the boards of directors and trustees for the equities funds Credit Suisse Large Cap Blend I and II on 30 June approved a “reorganisation” of the funds, which will become the Aberdeen US Equity I and II. The decisions still need to be approved by an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting.Credit Suisse Asset Management states that the funds sold to Aberdeen no longer fit in with its overall strategy.
13/07/2011

BlackFin Capital Partners raises EUR220m

The private equity investment firm BlackFin Capital Partners on Tueday, 12 July announced that it has raised EUR220m for its fund dedicated to financial services.On 30 June, BlackFin Capital Partners finalised its closing of the BlackFin Financial Services Fund, with commitments on the past of its investors – European institutionals and family offices – of EUR220m. The closing followed an initial closing in December 2009 at EUR60m, a statement says.The investment strategy for the fund is to take up influential stakes in SMBs in the financial sector (intermediation, asset management, electronic finances, distribution of financial products and insurance, service providers, etc), in France and continental Europe. Three investments have already been undertaken, at Owliance, a leader in services to insurance companies; Moneo, a leader in electronic wallets and multi-services; and Applicam, a provider of pre-paid card services.A fourth investment is underway, pending approval from regulatory authorities. BlackFin, with other investors, has announced that it is taking up a minority stake in Kepler Capital Markets, in order to finance its development.
13/07/2011

Banque Postale adds to range with launch of two new funds

La Banque Postale announced on Tuesday, 12 July that it is adding to its range of funds with the release of two new equities mutual funds: LPBAM Multi Actions Emergents, and LBPAM Actions Euro Flex.The former is a multi-management equities fund which invests in emerging markets via funds which are invested mostly in third-party mutual funds, in order to profit optimally from growth potential on emerging markets, and investment in local busineses, a statement says.The second fund, LBPAM Actions Euro Flex, is a flexible fund, whose objective is to capture rising trends on euro zone equities markets, while seeking to amortise falls on the markets when they occur.CharacteristicsName: LBPAM Multi Actions Emergents RISIN code: FR0010547117Subscription commission: maximum 2.5% TTC per yearManagement fee: maximum 3% TTCExit fee: noneinitial net asset value per share: EUR1,000Minimal subscription: EUR1,000 from CIF; none from life insurance policiesBenchmark: MSCI Emerging MarketsType of subscribers: AllName: LBPAM Actions Euro FlexISIN code: FR0011051689Subscription commission: maximum 2.5% TTC per yearManagement fee: maximum 2% TTC Initial net asset value: EUR1,000Minimal subscription: EUR1,000
13/07/2011

UniCredit picks an Austrian as director of its private banking activities

The board of directors at UniCredit on 12 July appointed the Viennese Helmut Bernkopf as head of its private banking division. He will begin in his new position on 1 August in Milan, and will report to CEO Roberto Nicastro. He will be a member of the business executive management committee, the Italian group announced on Monday.Bernkopf, who joined Bank Austria in 2004, has spent his entire career at the group. Since September 2008, he has been a member of the board of directors at bank Austria Creditanstalt, as head of corporate and investment banking Austria.The UniCredit private banking division serves about 235,000 clients, and manages about EUR167bn in assets.
13/07/2011

29 funds had more than EUR100m in inflows in January-June

On the basis of statistics from the Inverco association of Spanish asset management firms, Funds People has found that 29 funds posted net subscriptions of over EUR100m in first half. Among these “super-sellers” in January-June, Santander had two funds (Santander Select Prudente, with EUR487m, and Santander Select Moderado, with EUR329m), while BBVA had the Solidez IX BP (EUR278.3m), and Sabadell had the BS Garant. Fija 8 fund with EUR249.67m.However, the best-performing management firm in this area was La Caixa, with three products: Foncaixa Estabilidad (EUR2.55bn), Foncaixa Estabilidad Plus (EUR527.2m), and Foncaixa Asegurado (EUR398.85m).In total, Spanish funds in first half had net redemptions of over EUR3bn. Of the 25 best sellers, 20 were guaranteed funds, 19 of them bond funds.
13/07/2011

Aegon AM becomes Kames Capital

Andrew Fleming, CEO of Aegon Asset Management UK plc (EUR55bn in assets) on 12 July announced that from 1 September 2011, the firm will become known as Kames Capital, and that he will remain as its director. Sarah Russell, who is head of asset management at the Aegon group (EUR200bn) says that asset management activities in the UK will continue to serve insurers, but that the name change is a sign of the firm’s desire to concentrate on its specialty of serving external, third-party clients, independently of life insurance and retirement activities.The move aims to foreground well-performing ranges of bond and UK equities funds, multi-asset class products, and real estate funds.The asset management activities of Aegon in the United States and the Netherlands concentrate on the management of Aegon accounts to develop unit-linked products and investment solutions. In the UK, activities are focused on unit-linked investments, the Aegon UK service, and mandates from third parties.
13/07/2011

Ossiam lists four ETFs in London

Ossiam, an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management, has become the 20th provider to list its UCITS-compliant ETF products for trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The French asset management firm is now offering four Luxembourg-registered equities ETFs in London (alongside 4 listings in Frankfurt and 6 in Paris): Ossiam iSTOXX Europe Minimum Variance, US Minimum Variance, EURO STOXX 50 Equal Weight and STOXX 600 Equal Weight (see Newsmanagers of 28 June and 5 July).
13/07/2011

Fidelity launches an offshore version of its emerging Asia fund

In the United Kingdom, Fidelity UK has launched an onshore version of its Emerging Asia fund, launched in April 2008 (USD687m). The product, with 80-120 positions on equities from emerging Asian markets, uses the SCI Emerging Asia Composite Index as its benchmark, and is managed by Tera Chanpongsang.Front-end fee and management commission, respectively, are 3.5% and 1.5%, and minimal subscription is set at GBP2,500.
13/07/2011

State Street à l’offensive dans l’Hexagone

Directeur général de State Street Global Advisors en France, Marco Fusco entend bien accélérer le développement dans le pays de la filiale de gestion d’actifs de la banque américaine. Il confie au quotidien son souhait particulier de s’appuyer pour ce faire sur la marque SPDR de gestion indicielle. «La société n’a jamais eu la volonté marketing et commerciale de (la) promouvoir. Mais ça va changer» assure le quotidien.
13/07/2011

Carmignac Gestion modifie sa gouvernance

Carmignac Gestion annoncera ce matin, lors de sa conférence trimestrielle, la nomination d’Eric Le Coz au poste de directeur général adjoint. Il coordonnera les gérants au côté d’Edouard Carmignac, alors que la boutique, sortie grande gagnante de la crise, est en décollecte en 2011.

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