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07/07/2011

Institutional interest in hedge funds rebounds

According to a survey by Infovest21, 60% of a sample of 32 institutional investors are already making use of the services of hedge funds or funds of funds, and estimate that hedge funds could contribute to resolving their pension financing problems, Finalternatives reports. “Institutional investors are seeking hedge funds above all in the search for uncorrelated returns,” says Said Lois Peltz, president of Infovest21. The survey finds that the typical institutional investor allocates 29.2% of its assets to hedge funds, and 11.4% to funds of funds. In the next twelve months, allocation to hedge funds may rise to 35.5% for hedge funds, and 16.2% for funds of funds. About 50% of respondents have already been working with hedge funds or funds of funds for over 10 years. More than 40% of institutionals surveyed say that they use equities to finance hedge funds, while bonds and cash are cited by nearly 30% of respondents each. In terms of strategies, institutionals prefer long/short equities and multi-strategies. Infovest21 also says that funds dedicated to a single country, activist funds, and ABS funds are no longer of as much interest to investors, who for the first time have shown some interest in managed futures and distressed.
07/07/2011

Hedge funds back in the red in June

Hedge funds have seen losses once again in the month of June.June is the second consecutive month of losses. The HFRX Global Hedge Fund index lost 1.59% in June; it has lost 2.12% since the beginning of the year.Systematic diversified funds lost 3.49% last month, and have lost 6.4% since the beginning of the year. Macro funds have lost 2.35% for the month, and 2.14% in the past six months.However, special situations funds have gained 2.25% since the beginning of the year, despite losses of 1.52% in June.
07/07/2011

JP Morgan launches an absolute return fund

JP Morgan on 6 July launched an absolute return fund, the JPM Global Equity Absolute Alpha fund, a UCITS III-compliant long/short equities product, Investment Week reports. The fund aims for returns 3% to 5% above the Libor 1-month on an annual bases. Management fees have been set at 1.25%, and performance commission is 10%.
07/07/2011

Credit Suisse launches a product with no capital guarantee

Until 28 July 2011, Credit Suisse is offering Engagement Coupon, a product based on a complex debt security with no capital guarantee, with a duration of eight years. At maturity, set for 5 August 2019, the investor will receive capital invested if the Eurostoxx 50 index (without dividends reinvested) has not fallen by more than 75% from its initial value, as defined on 28 July 2011. In the opposite case, there will be loss of capital, and the investor will receive the equivalent of the final level of the index, limited to its initial value. Before maturity, the fund will deliver annual coupons of 5%, regardless of the performance of the Euro Stoxx 50. Characteristics ISIN code: XS0631920401 Issuer: Credit Suisse AG Issue price: EUR1,000 Dates of payment for the coupon: 30 July 2012, 29 July 2013, 28 July 2014, 28 July 2016, 28 July 2017, 30 July 2018, 29 July 2019 Eligible for investment from life insurance policies
07/07/2011

Hedge funds pessimistic about US equities

Hedge fund managers are now pessimistic about US equities, according to the most recent survey by TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge. About 38% of 87 managers surveyed are predicting that the S&P 500 index will fall, compared with 29% in May. Only 27% are predicting that the index will rise, compared with 30% in May. This pessimism is not preventing hedge funds from announcing in the meanwhile that they will be increasing their leverage in the next few weeks. About 74% of hedge funds are ruling out the possibility that the Fed will announce another wave of quantitative easing.
07/07/2011

N+1 imports a UCITS-compliant capital development hedge fund

On 30 June, the CNMV granted a sales license for A-class shares (ES0131236004) and B-class shares (ES0131236012) in the free investment fund (Spanish format UCITS-compliant hedge fund) EQMC, which bears the name of an Irish Sicav (EUR120m) from N+1 (N mas 1) Asset Management, for which the depository is Santander Investment. The liquidity for the product, aimed at institutional investors, will be weekly. The fund will adopt minority active stakes in 8 to 12 European publicly-traded businesses in order to help them to develop. The objective for the Spanish fund is to collect EUR250m to EUR300m in assets in 3 years, and then to close. A shares (minimal subscription of EUR1m) will carry a management commission of 1.6%, while B shares (EUR100,000) will charge a commission of 2%. In both cases, there will be a performance commission of 15%. Funds People reports that the portfolio of the Irish Sicav is 65% invested in German businesses, 17% in British firms, and 10% in Scandinavian and Iberian businesses.
07/07/2011

Alpha Plus launches an ESG pension plan

The Spanish management firm Alpha Plus has launched a pension fund (Alpha Plus Horizonte fund), which will deploy a strategy that takes into account environmental, social and governange (ESG) criteria, and which will invest in equities and bonds, IPE.com reports. “The fund will be managed according to ethical criteria such as respect for human rights and the environment,” says the head of Alpha Plus, Javier Amo Fernandez del Avila. Half of the management fees will be contributed to the University of Navarro charity for applied medical research.
07/07/2011

Inflows to German asset management industry collapse

According to the most recent statistics from the German BVI association of asset management firms, the sector in May saw net redemptions of EUR344m, with net outflows of EUR1.22bn from institutional funds, and net subscriptions of EUR683m for open-ended funds. Mandates attracted a net total of EUR193.5m.In the first five months of the year, total net subscriptions came to EUR10bn, including EUR13.87bn for institutional funds, while open-ended funds saw net redemptions of EUR3.54bn. In April 2011, the sector posted net subscriptions of EUR1.05bn, while in January-May 2010, net subscriptions totalled EUR37.65bn.All the major asset management firms saw net outflows in the first five months of 2011 from open-ended securities funds. For the sector as a whole, these redemptions totalled EUR3.74bn. Allianz Global Investors saw outflows of EUR377.4m, while DekaBank (savings banks) saw net redemptions of EUR4.7bn, and the DB/DWS/DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank) group posted net redemptions of EUR594.9m. Union Investment (co-operative banks) underwent only EUR185.7m in net outflows.However, ETF promoters show good results: BlackRock, with its iShares funds, has seen net inflows of over EUR2.91bn. ComStage (Commerzbank) attracted EUR234.5m, and db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) shows net inflows of EUR506m. But ETFlab (Deka) has seen net outflows of over EUR1.18bn.
07/07/2011

Natixis Interépargne and Natixis AM offer a new retirement savings solution

Natixis Interépargne and Natixis Asset Management on 6 July announced the launch of “Avenir Garanti – Retraite,” a new financial management solution dedicated to pensions, which carries a capital guarantee at maturity for up to 40 years. The “Avenir Garanti – Retraite” range, composed of five business common investment funds (FCPE), offers two guarantees at maturity: a guarantee of the highest level of value attained since the creation of the fund, and a guarantee that 100% of invested capital will be recuperated.
07/07/2011

British Serious Fraud Office investigates ETFs

The British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an enquiry into the potential dangers of ETFs, following warnings from the FSA and the Bank of England, Investment Week reports. The SFO has joined forces to investigate these problems with regulatory authorities and professional associations. “We are slightly out of our expertise. That is why we are looking to other authorities. What worries us and what is not immediately apparent with these investments is the way in which they are presented to investors, the underlying value of the collateral, and their domicile,” a spokesperson for the SFO explains. According to Financial News, the regulator is concerned that collateral could possibly be used to store toxic or illiquid debt.
07/07/2011

Private equity: clean technologies market set to continue growth

SAM, the affiliate of Robeco dedicated exclusively to sustainable investment, has published its second study of the global private equity market in the area of clean tech, entitled “Clean Tech Private Equity: past, present, and future.” The results of the study show that the market is seeing a new wave of growth, which investors may exploit through targeted investments.The clean tech industry in particular appears to be set to continue its higher than average growth. It is benefiting from high levels of cost competitiveness compared with traditional energies, and strong demand for clean and safe energy solutions. A wide range of sectors specialised in clean tech will no longer depend on government aid in the future. Meanwhile, there are a growing number of opportunities for profitable exits (initial public offerings, mergers, and acquisitions) for private equity investors.
07/07/2011

UBS to make savings in wealth management activities

UBS is to make savings in wealth management, Agefi Switzerland reports. “Costs are an issue,” says Jürg Zeltner, director of UBS Wealth Management, cited in Finanz und Wirtschaft on Wednesday, 6 July. “I am pessimistic about the evolution of margins, and that’s why it is necessary to manage costs, with extreme discipline,” Zeltner continues. The question is whether a long-term objective of 4% annual growth in costs remains plausible. This needs to be placed into perspective with the fact that 65% of contracts are realised in euros or US dollars. “For the moment, I am extremely cautious,” says Zeltner. The director of UBS Wealth Management has no plans to add to staff aside from client advisers. Savings are planned in third-party services, headhunters, activities associated with advising and market prospecting.
07/07/2011

Switzerland plans to step up monitoring of collective investments

Under international pressure, Switzerland is set to toughen its standards for collective investments, Agefi Switzerland reports. The Federal Council on 6 July placed a proposed revision to the law which would extend surveillance of asset managers under consultation until 7 October. The law on collective capital investments no longer meets the needs of the country for protection of investors and competitiveness, the government claims. Following the financial crisis, most countries have toughened regulations. Swiss regulations have some gaps, as they do not subject all investment managers to government supervision. Dispositions related to custody of investments are rudimentary, and to not correspond to international standards. Distribution of collective investments to qualified investors is no longer regulated either.
07/07/2011

Unorthodox practices at Fletcher AM

Three Louisiana pension funds invested USD100m with the hedge fund manager Fletcher Asset Management, which in 2008 promised them returns of 12% per year. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reports, they demanded redemption, but Alphonse Fletcher Jr., the manager of the fund, sent them promissory notes, promising to pay them back in two years. That is not the only peculiarity of Fletcher AM, which counts its assets several times, with assets in 17 feeder funds which lend money to each other, and to a master fund which does not invest in the markets directly. Fletcher declares assets of over USD500m, when in reality it has less than USD200m.
07/07/2011

Merrill Lynch sentenced in case dating back to 2008 crisis

An arbitration panel for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has sentenced Professional Clearing Corp., an affiliate of Merrill Lynch which provides hedge fund services, for making “unexpected margin calls” as the markets collapsed in 2008, which provoked the bankruptcy of the hedge fund management firm Rosen Capital Management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merrill Lynch has been sentenced to pay USD63.7m. Merrill Lynch is planning to appeal the decision.
07/07/2011

Barings and AllianceBernstein recruit in Germany

The British asset management firm Barings has announced the recruitment of Martin Dilg for its Frankfurt-based team. He will be in charge of distribution for investment funds in Germany and Austria, particularly in the area of relationship with funds of funds, private banks and family offices. Dilg had previously been director of manager selection for fund managers and funds of funds at Fürst Fugger Privatbank. He will report to Oliver Morath, head of sales for Europe & Middle East.The US management firm AllianceBernstein has also added to its European distribution team, with three recruitments for Europe and Germany.Mirko Böttcher will be based in London, and will be in charge of third-party fund distribution in Europe. He had been operation global manager for relationships with businesses at Schroders.Gunnar Knierim, director of distribution to banks and wealth managers in Munich for Pioneer Investments, has joined AllianceBernstein as head for German distribution partners (asset managers, wealth managers, private banks, family offices and funds of funds).Lastly, Elizabeth Para also joins AllianceBernstein in London as product manager, to develop sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She had previously been an investment strategist in the area of currencies at Overlay Asset Management.
07/07/2011

Deka supervisory board continues to soak in its political stew

This Thursday, the first meeting of the board of directors of DekaBank, the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, since the Landesbanken sold off their stakes in the business, will be held. But the board, which is equivalent to a supervisory board, will have “at least 25” members instead of 30, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, as Deka is a para-political organisation, and the regional savings banks have no intention of giving up any power, or any seats on the board.Reformers at the business have not succeeded in imposing “import” of outside expertise. However, there are plans to appoint directors for the savings banks who have some notions of the way that banks operate; but those who will remain as chairmen at regional savings banking associations tend to think tactically and view their work through a political prism.
07/07/2011

Legg Mason recruits a head of development

Richard von Bergmann-Korn, who had been senior sales director for retail activities at ING Investment Management in Germany, has joined Legg Mason in Frankfurt, as head of business development for wholesale distribution in the German-speaking countries. He will report to Klaus Dahmann, head of sales for Germany & Austria. Bergmann-Korn previously worked as senior sales director at Pioneer Investment, for strategic partnerships in Germany and Austria, and before that worked at Axa Investment Managers and Paribas Asset Management.
07/07/2011

Och-Ziff hits a rough patch in June

Assets under management at the New York-based alternative management firm Och-Ziff fell by USD700m in the month of June, to USD29.3bn. The firm does not state the reason for this development, whether it is due to market effects and/or net outflows.
07/07/2011

Russell looks to develop banking partnerships

Russell Investments on 6 July announced that it is seeking to increase its presence among banking networks, with the appointments of John Harrell and Paul Izzo to the newly-created position of national account executive.
07/07/2011

Private managers seek riskier assets

The Financial Times reports that private bankers appear to have overcome their aversion to risk, and are returning to alternative assets. A study by Scorpio Partnership states that client portfolios at some of the largest British wealth management firms now have average allocations of 17% to alternative products (hedge funds, private equity, commodities, and real estate), compared with 7% at the end of 2009.
07/07/2011

Appointments at Standard Life Investments

The British management firm Standard Life Investments has announced that it has added to its team in charge of fund selection, with the appointments of Jason Day, katie Trowsdale and Matthew Webber as senior analysts. The new recruits will report to Alan Scrimger, head of fund research, and will work in close collaboration with Bambos Hambi, who took over as head of fund of fund management in March 2011. Day previously worked at Allbridge, Trowsdale at Gartmore, and Webber at Co-operative Asset Management.
07/07/2011

Derivatives: associations warn against excessive divergence of regulations

The British Investment management association (IMA) and seven other professional organisations, including the European banking federation, have alerted the European Commission and the US Treasury to take measures to coordinate regulations in the area of derivative products.In a letter sent to the European commissioner for the internal market, Michel Barnier, and the US Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, the professional associations claim that there is a need for increased cooperation between European and US regulators, in order to avoid the damaging effects of extra-territoriality, which is often associated with protectionist inclinations on the part of governments.
07/07/2011

Temasek reduces exposure to major Chinese banks

The Singapore sovereign fund Temasek Holdings on Wednesday resold shares in Bank of China and China Construction Bank for USD3.62bn, at 6% and 3.4% below their closing prices on Tuesday, respectively, the Wall Street Journal reports. Temasek says that it is a simple rebalancing of its portfolio, rather than a negative prediction as to the Chinese banks, but the poor performance of the shares is a sign that investors are concerned about the portfolio of credits to Chinese local governments. Moody’s on Tuesday revised its outlook for Chinese bank debts to negative, due to lack of a clear plan to reduce public debt.

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