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01/03/2011

Mitigated success for Italian Fund Hub

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Italian Fund Hub, an internet platform which is intended to bring together data on funds from asset management firms members of Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers, has been a mitigated success, Plus, the money supplement of Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. Of 74 financial groups registered with the association, only 18 have released information on the site so far, though among them are the major players in the sector: Eurizon Capital, Generali, Pioneer, Allianz and Mediolanum. The cost of the service is not prohibitive: from EUR1,440 to EUR7,200 per year. The idea is to offer investors a single location where information on funds from various asset management firms can be found.
01/03/2011

Lower correlations will be good for long/short equities strategies

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Long/short equities strategies are expected to benefit from lower levels of correlation between securities, according to fund of hedge fund managers surveyed by Standard & Poor’s Fund Services. As correlation falls, fund of fund managers say in the most recent survey by Standard & Poor’s, hedge funds may generate alpha due to the dispersion between sectors and businesses. Funds of funds finished 2010 in a good position, with gains of 3.5% in fourth quarter, and returns of 5% for the year, according to statistics from HFN.
01/03/2011

BlackRock and NTR launch a new investment platform

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock and the Ireland-based NTR group on 28 February announced that they have signed a strategic agreement to launch a new investment platform specialised in renewable energies.Partners at NTR will join the BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI) investment platform, which currently manages more than USD110bn in assets in various alternative strategies. As a part of the partnership, NTR will provide market analysis to the investment team, and will have an economic interest in some of the products of the new investment platform. The CEO of NTR, Jim Barry, will serve as chief investment officer of the new BAI unit, and will be in charge of developing the platform.
01/03/2011

Another lawsuit against Nyse Euronext-Deutsche Börse tie-up

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } La Tribune reports that the pension fund for Louisiana municipal police employees have filed a lawsuit against Nyse-Euronext. The fund claims that the proposed deal with Deutsche Börse does not value the transatlantic market operator at a fair price.
01/03/2011

Fabien Perez joins CCR AM

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fabien Perez has joined CCR Asset Management (UBS group) as a sales representative for external distribution. Perez previously worked at Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking as a financial engineer for structured products and mutual funds.
01/03/2011

Good 2010 results for HSBC France

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } At a presentation of its annual results, HSBC France announced pre-tax profits of EUR626m, up 15% compared with 2009. Assets under management rose by 15%, from EUR84.7bn to EUR97bn as of 31 December 2010. Pre-tax profits more than doubled (+156%), with 16% growth in earnings and an 8% increase in operating costs. In the private banking sector, growth in earnings was 10% compared with 2009, with a noticeable improvement in pre-tax profits, which were multiplied by a factor of 6.5. Assets under management rose 2% compared with 2009, to EUR9.5bn, largely, the bank says, thanks to synergies with the HSBC network.
01/03/2011

Aviva Investors France appoints a director for commercial development

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agnès Paquin has been appointed as head of business development at Aviva Investors France, the asset management unit of the Aviva France group, a statement says. She will be in charge of supervising the sales team, composed of Abdel Chabane and Said Bel Bachir. Paquin joined Aviva France in 1997. Since 2006, she has been technical director for projects and advising at GIE AFER.
01/03/2011

Axa Private Equity acquires 10% of Spain's CLH

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French investment fund Axa Private Equity announced in a statement on 28 February that it has acquired a 10% stake in the Spanish oil transport and storage firm CLH (Compania Logistica de Hydrocarburos) from the Disa petrol station group.“The transaction values the company at about EUR3.6bn,” says Axa PE, which implies an acquisition price of EUR360m. The investment fund is pleased to become “one of the shareholders of reference in CLH,” after the Spanish oil group Cepsa, which holds a 14.15% stake.The Oman Oil group, AMP Capital, and Repsol already control about 10% each in CLH, but Repsol announced in mid-January that it had retained a business bank to help it to sell a part of its stake. The remainder of the capital is held by banks and other oil groups.“With this deal, Axa Private Equity signs a new significant engagement in the Spanish infrastructure market, following the recent acquisition of a strategic stake in Autopista Trados 45,” the fund says. Axa PE has a strategy of “investing in strategic infrastructure assets, which are both protected against inflation and have low volatility.”
01/03/2011

Angel Oak launches a bond fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Angel Oak Capital Advisors, an asset management firm based in Atlanta, is launching its first mutual fund, a bond product. The firm, led by Screeni Prabhu, Michael Fierman and Brad Friedlander, all veterans of Washington Mutual, manages USD165m in assets, Mutual Fund Wire reports.
01/03/2011

French boutique SPGP looks to extend product range and client base

The French asset management boutique SPGP is preparing to add to its range of funds with the launch on 7 March of Sélection Small Caps. The stock-picking fund will invest exclusively in small caps with a market capitalisation of under EUR500m, from a European investment universe with a marked French bias. On paper, the fund will invest 75% in shares from the European Community, of which at least 60% will be French shares. “The portfolio will remain rather concentrated, with 50 positions, whose capitalisation will be rather close to EUR300m,” explains Roger Polani, vice-CEO, who will manage the fund with Gonzague Ruchaud, “but it will avoid illiquid shares, with floats of only about 2% to 3%.”Despite the recent good perforamnce of small and midcaps, Polani estimates that the timing for the launch of a fund of this kind is not bad. However, the fund will be classified as balanced, so as to allow the managers to hedge the portfolio if there is a sustained downturn in the market.In terms of assets, the management will limit the size of the fund to EUR30m; it will start with EUR4m to EUR5m in seed capital. The firm is also planning to offer a six-month waiver of front-end fees for the OPCVM fund, aimed primarily at retail investors via independent financial advisers.Characteristics of the fundISIN code: FR0011001460Front-end fee: 1% (temporary exemption for at least 6 months)Fixed annual management fee: 2.4%Annual performance commission: 10% of returns exceeding 10%Size of shares: EUR100
01/03/2011

Jeff Kaplan leaves BofA for a hedge fund

Jeff Kaplan, the global head of mergers and acquisitions, is going to leave Bank of America Merrill Lynch to become become chief operating officer of Appaloosa Management, according to the Financial Times. Steven Baronoff will again take control of the deals business at the bank.
01/03/2011

Tikehau eyes strategic partnership with UniCredit

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French independent asset management boutique Tikehau may see the entry of the Italian group UniCredit into its capital, Les Echos reports. UniCredit would buy a stake of about 10% in the firm’s holding company, Tikehau Capital Advisors, which is controlled by the management. A joint venture would be created to set up shared teams and work on operations (valuation, distribution). UniCredit will also gradually invest in funds from Tikehau Investment Management. The partnership could be made official on Tuesday, 1 March, and then be presented to a general shareholders’ meeting on 2 March.
01/03/2011

Berkshire Hathaway names another potential successor to Buffett

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The board of directors at Berkshire Hathaway has named a fourth candidate on its top-secret list of potential successors to Warren Buffett, CEO, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a securities filing. Matt Rose is head of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, in which Berkshire is a shareholder.
01/03/2011

M&G releases an inflation-linked corporate bond fund in Germany

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British asset management firm M&G Investments is now offering the new M&G European Inflation Corporate Bond Fund, managed by Jim Leaviss and Ben Lord, which invests in investment grade corporate bonds, with the objective of generating performance at least equivalent to the European inflation rate, for sale in Germany, Das Investment reports.
01/03/2011

Schroders releases a European small and midcaps fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Schroders Germany has released the European Small & Mid Cap Value sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav Schroder Isf, launched on 30 November 2010, based on the seven-year track record of a similar Swiss-registered fund, for sale in Germany. The manager remains the same: Caspar Benz, assisted by Daniel Lenz as co-manager.As its name indicates, the value fund focuses on European small and midcaps, including shares from central and eastern Europe and Russian companies, with total capitalisations of EUR500m to EUR10bn. The portfolio of 70-100 positions is managed with a stock-picking approach, and a good deal of freedom to diverge from the benchmark index (MSCI Europe Small & Mid Cap TR).CharacteristicsName: Schroder ISF European Small & Mid Cap ValueISIN code: LU0559386015Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.5%Minimal initial subscription: EUR1000
01/03/2011

Redemption freeze to be extended for KanAm grundinvest

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a letter to shareholders, the German asset management firm KanAm has announced that the freeze on redemptions from it open-ended real estate fund grundinvest will probably be extended for another year, from 6 May 2011, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The move comes as a result of depreciations of assets, tax charges, poor returns (0.3% in 2010), and legislative changes in preparation.
01/03/2011

Bellevue registers nine funds in Spain

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On 25 February, the CNMV issued registrations for nine funds launched by the Swiss management firm Bellevue Asset Management, an affiliate of Bellevue Group. Sales in Spain will be conducted by Banco Inversis.The funds, all sub-funds of the group’s Luxembourg Sicav, are the following: BB African Opportunities, BB Biotech, BB Entrepreneur Europe, BB European Opportunities, BB Global Macro, BB Healthcare, BB Meditech, BB Selection and BB Silk Road Opportunities.
01/03/2011

Madoff claims his fraud started out legal

Bernard Madoff has claimed in a series of taped phone calls with a reporter for New York magazine that his Ponzi scheme, in which investors lost USD65bn, started off as a legitimate business that earned 15 per cent annual returns through much of the 1980s, according to the Financial Times. He said that he started defrauding investors in the early 1990s when a period of low market volatility made it hard for his strategy to work. “I thought I could extricate myself after a short period of time. But I just couldn’t,” he said.
01/03/2011

European asset managers will be required to register with SEC

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Financial Times Fund Management reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission will probably pass a law requiring European asset management firms with clients in the United States for over USD25m to register with it by July, or to withdraw from the US market. The move comes despite lobbying by the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA) against the proposed legislation.
01/03/2011

Three equities managers join SWIP

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The equities managers Stephen Corr and James Kinghorn will join the international equities team at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), led by Mike McNaught-Davis, on 3 March and 14 March, respectively. The team on 4 January already gained Craig Bonthron, who previously managed the Global Water Fund at Kleinwort Benson, and who will be in charge of the management of ethical and environmental products, under Johnny Russell. Corr previously worked at BlackRock, where he was director and portfolio manager. Kinghorn was senior manager for North American and Latin American equities at Scottish Investment Trust.
01/03/2011

Assets under management up to GBP4.5bn at SWIP in 2010

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) as of 31 December totalled GBP146.2bn, compared with GBP141.7bn as of the end of December 2009. Gross inflows totalled GBP3.1bn.
01/03/2011

iShares launches ETFs replicating DJSI sustainable development indices

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock Advisors (UK) Ltd on 28 February announced the admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) of two UCITS-compliant sustainable development ETFs, using the Dow Jones Sustainability Indixes (DJSI0 from the Swiss firm SAM Sustainable Asset Management (Robeco group) as underlying.These physical replication products are registered in Ireland, as sub-funds of the Sicav iShares II plc.The “global” fund, iShares Dow Jones Global Sustainability Screened (IGSC, IE00B57X3V84), replicates the Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged index ex alcohol, tobacco, gambling, armament & firearms and adult entertainment. It charges 0.60%.The European version of the product excluding “sensitive” sectors, the iShares Dow Jones Europe Sustainability Screened fund (IESE, IE00B52VJ196), replicates the DJSE index with the same sectoral exclusions (tobacco, alcohol, gambling, armaments & firearms, and adult entertainment). The management commission is 0.45%.
01/03/2011

Soft close for Baillie Gifford emerging markets fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Scottish asset management firm Baillie Gifford has decided to announce a provisional closure to new investors of its emerging markets fund. The soft close will take place on 6 April, fundstrategy reports. The Emerging Markets Growth fund, which recently topped GBP1bn in assets, is managed by Richard Sneller. The manager says that liquidity has become a real problem for the fund, driving the management team to take significant stakes in increasingly small businesses.
01/03/2011

F&C launches an absolute return fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } F&C will launch an absolute return fund focused on Europe, which will be managed by Randeep Grewal, who has recently been recruited by the British asset management firm, Investment Week reports. The Thames River European Absolute Return fund will be available from 1 March, and will be offered as a UCITS III-compliant OEIC vehicle, domiciled in Dublin. The manager will select 10 promising investment themes, and three positions per theme.
01/03/2011

First State recruits a manager from Macquarie for its real estate unit

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Marco Van Bussel at the end of January joined the 13-member global real estate securities management team at First State Investments (UK) as a portfolio manager. He was previously in charge of mandates focused on European real estate securities at Macquarie Fund Management in London. Van Bussel will continue to be based in London with First State, and will be in charge of continental European and UK real estate securities. He will report to Andrew Nicholas, head of global property securities.
01/03/2011

Pimco launches a high yield bond fund

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investment Week reports that Pimco has launched a high yield bond fund, whose largest allocations will be dedicated to ABS, RMBS and CMBS. The Select UK Income Bond Fund is a UCITS-compliant vehicle, which will be managed by Mike Amey, and which will aim for gross returns of 5% per year. The fund will invest as a top priority in investment grade rated British assets. About 50% of the allocation is dedicated to ABS and MBS, 30% to investment grade credit (largely from the UK), 10% to high yield, and 10% to emerging markets debt.
01/03/2011

BlackRock releases BGF European Income fund in Spain

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The BGF European Income sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav BlackRock Global Funds (61 funds) has been issued a sales license for Spain by the CNMV, Funds People reports. The product, which aims for average annual returns of at least 110% of the MSCI Europe index, is managed by Andreas Zoellinger and Alice Gaskell. It invests at least 70% of its portfolio (40-70 positions) with a bottom-up approach in businesses domiciled in Europe or which realise most of their activities on the continent.
01/03/2011

Aberdeen launches an Asian short-term bond fund

Aberdeen Asset Management has created a fund providing dedicated exposure to local currency short duration Asian bonds.The Aberdeen Global – Asian Local Currency Short Duration Bond Fund is domiciled in Luxembourg and managed by Aberdeen’s Asian Fixed Income team in Singapore which manages over USD6.4 billion in assets.The fund will invest mostly in sovereign bonds, across as many as ten different countries in Asia ex-Japan, with an expected initial duration of less than 1.65 years (making it relatively insulated from current inflation threats). The average credit rating will be A-minus. The benchmark will be the iBoxx – Asia ex Japan sovereign 1-3 years index.
01/03/2011

Bellevue Group renoue avec les bénéfices

Au titre de 2010, bellevue Group affiche un bénéfice net de 1,53 million de francs suisses contre une perte de 95,06 millions pour 2009, mais le coefficient d’exploitation s’est dégradé à 91,4 % contre 85,2 %.En fin d’année, l’encours total avait diminué à 4,1 milliards de francs contre 4,85 milliards. Les sorties nettes sont ressorties à 526 millions de francs contre 520 millions.La filiale Bellevue Asset Management a pour sa part accusé une perte de 2,3 millions de francs contre 1,4 million. Les nouvelles stratégies de niche, notamment entrepreneuriales, ont permis de lever 200 millions de francs, mais cela s’est avéré insuffisant pour compenser les remboursements nets sur les stratégies historiques dans le domaine de la santé (réduction de capital chez la filiale BB Biotech), de nouveaux ajustement structurels et un effet de marché négatif.Bellevue Group proposera à l’assemblée générale du 21 mars le versement au titre de 2010 d’un dividende de 4 francs suisses par action par remboursement de réserves.

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