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03/01/2011

Good outlooks for private equity in Germany

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The sun is rising over the Rhine. Major transactions are still expected in the German private equity industry, despite its collapse in 2009, and the fact that the recovery of private equity funds has been slower than expected, the Financial Times Deutschland reports. But investors estimate that the time is not right, and nothing is changing in terms of fundamental trends. Germany is nonetheless a privileged hunting-ground for large funds, due to the excellent financial health of many businesses which may represent potential targets. In this environment, major market actors have all built up funds with very good volumes of spending money, with more than EUR11bn at Apax, more than EUR6bnat BC Partners and about EUR10bn at Blackstone.
03/01/2011

hausInvest fund falls below EUR10bn

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 22 December, assets in the hausInvest fund, managed by Commerz Real, represented less than EUR9.98bn, compared with more than EUR10.81bn as of 1 October, Das Investment reports.This decline of nearly EUR1bn is due to rising equities and uncertainties related to the future of open-ended real estate funds. Despite the redemptions, Commerzbank is not planning a sales drive, says Markus Esser, spokesman for Commerz Real.HausInvest is the product born of the merger of the hausInvest europa and hausInvest global funds (see Newsmanagers of 25 March 2010).
03/01/2011

Union Investment sells a property in Hamburg

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } One week after selling two properties in Saint-Denis for EUR120m (see Newsmanagers of 24 December), Union Investment Real Estate (UIRE) has announced the sale of an office/commercial property in Hamburg for EUR44.6m to Aachener Grundvermögen Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH. The sale, like those of the two French properties, took place at a price higher than the most recent expert valuation.
03/01/2011

CS Euroreal fund sells two properties in Paris

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The open-ended real estate fund CS Euroreal from Credit Suisse Germany, which has been closed to redemptions for several months (see Newsmanagers of 21 May 2010), on 17 December announced the sale for EUR184m of two properties in Paris: an office building located at 31 avenue Pierre I de Serbie, and a commercial property at 88 rue de Rivoli. The total sale price is higher than the most recent expert valuation.Credit Suisse also states that the fund on 14 December distributed EUR199.1m in dividends for the period to 30 September 2010, of which more than one quarter, EUR52.4m, were reinvested in the fund in the next three days.
03/01/2011

Van Eck to launch a new fund in early 2011

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US management firm Van Eck is planning to launch a new mutual fund on 3 January, the Van Eck CM Commodity Index Fund, Mutual Fund Wire reports.
03/01/2011

Dynamic Funds has two champions among its six funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Since 2009, Dynamic Funds (DundeeWealth group) has had six funds on sale in the United States.As of 27 December, the Wall Street Journal reports, its US Growth Fund, managed by Noah Blackstein, has gained 52% in one year, and posted USD14m in net subscriptions in fourth quarter, doubling its assets. It is the best leverage-free diversified US equities fund of 2010.The Dynamic Gold & Precious Metals Fund, an equities fund managed by Robert Cohen, has earned the highest performance for any type of fund in 2010, with 71%.Dynamic Funds, which represents most of the CAD33.8bn in assets under management at DundeeWealth, is struggling to retain most of its star managers now that Scotiabank has announced plans to acquire DundeeWealth (see Newsmanagers of 23 November 2010). Blackstein has announced that he is planning to remain in place.
03/01/2011

Norwegian government pension fund changes strategies

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Government Pension Fund – Global (GPFG), formerly known as the Petroleum Fund, has recently obtained permission to invest up to 5% of its assets (currently NOK3trn) in real estate, Handelsblatt reports. Previously, the fund was allowed to invest 60% of its assets in foreign equities and 40% in bonds, but the proportion in bonds has now been limited to 35%.The CEO of the GPFG, Yngve Slyngstad, soon afterwards announced the acqusition of a 25% stake in 113 properties in Regent Street in London from The Crown Estate, for NOK4.2bn (EUR513.8m). Further real estate acquisitions are planned in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, but no investments will take place in the United States before 2012.Slyngstad and Svein Gjedrem, governor of the Norwegian central bank, are currently in talks with the government to get an approval for the GPFG to invest in private equity.
03/01/2011

Islamic finance stagnating in Switzerland

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Agefi Switzerland reports that the private banking sector in Switzerland is seeing limited demand for Sharia-compliant financial products. Pictet & Cie launched a thematic fund based on the methods of Islamic finance two years ago, and closed it last year. “There is an inexplicable scepticism on the part of Geneva private banks about giving a mandate to a consulting firm specialised in Sharia-compliant investment. As of now, no major institution of this type which is respected internationally is yet established in Switzerland, though they are in London and Luxembourg,” says John Sandwick, independent manager in Geneva, cited by the newspaper.
03/01/2011

Carlyle s’allège dans China Pacific Insurance

La société d’investissement américaine a vendu 215,8 millions d’actions au prix unitaire de 31,15 dollars de Hong Kong, selon un prospectus obtenu par Bloomberg. Au total, le montant de l’opération s’élève à 6,7 milliards de dollars (près de 650 millions d’euros). La banque suisse UBS a tenu le livre d’ordres.
03/01/2011

Le « Panel Allocation » se renforce en actions

Les gestions du Panel Allocation de L’Agefi consacrent désormais la moitié de leur portefeuille aux actions, au plus haut niveau depuis fin 2009. Ce mouvement s’est réalisé au détriment de l’obligataire, ainsi que du cash qui constitue plus que jamais une classe d’actifs de transition.
03/01/2011

DWS sur la piste de la gestion alternative

La filiale de fonds ouverts de Deutsche Bank, DWS Investment, va lancer au cours du trimestre en cours un fonds alternatif pour les investisseurs particuliers. C’est ce qu’a confié à l’édition dominicale du Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung à l’occasion d’un entretien le membre du conseil de direction du gestionnaire d’actifs Klaus Kaldemorgen.
31/12/2010

Axa poursuit son développement à l'Est

Le groupe Axa a annoncé le 30 décembre l’acquisition de 80% du capital du biélorusse B&B Insurance dans le cadre de la poursuite de son développement en Europe centrale et de l’Est. Le montant de la transaction n’a pas été rendu public.« L’acquisition de B&B est une excellente opportunité pour AXA d’entrer sur le marché biélorusse, qui se développe rapidement. Nous souhaitons réitérer ici le succès d’AXA en Ukraine où nous sommes devenus le premier assureur en trois ans, en nous appuyant sur les liens géographiques et culturels entre les deux pays », explique Cyrille de Montgolfier, directeur général d’AXA Europe centrale et de l’Est, cité dans un communiqué. Le marché biélorusse offre à l’assureur français un important potentiel de croissance puisque moins de 15% de foyers notamment disposent d’une assurance habitation. Deuxième assureur biélorusse par sa taille et premier assureur privé en Biélorussie avec une part de marché globale de 10%, B&B Insurance vend exclusivement des produits d’assurance dommages. Le montant des primes émises s’est élevé en 2009 à 29 millions d’euros.La finalisation de l’opération devrait intervenir dans le courant du premier trimestre 2011.
31/12/2010
Fonds

Astorg et Axa Private Equity, parmi les fonds plus performants du monde

Selon le Top 10 mondial des acteurs du private equity les plus performants, établi par HEC Paris et l’agence Dow Jones. Astorg Partners pointe à la deuxième place, gagnant un cran par rapport à l’année dernière, et AXA Private Equity arrive en dixième position, indique La Tribune. On retrouve trois acteurs américains (Leonard Green & Partners, Hellman & Friedman et Lincolnshire), trois britanniques (BC Partners, Permira et TowerBrook Capital), un allemand (Waterland) et un suédois (Nordic Capital).
Fonds
31/12/2010

Steven Rattner buries the hatchet with State of New York

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Financial Times reports that Steven Rattner, former automotive industry advisor to Barack Obama. Has agreed to pay USD10m to settle a dispute with the State of New York over a corruption scandal. Rattner was accused of paying bribes in 2007 to obtain a USD150m by the state’s pension fund in the Quadrangle fund, which he co-founded and directed. The New York authorities were seeking at least USD26m and a permanent ban of Rattner from the state’s financial activities. They ultimately got USD10m and a five-year ban on any contact with the New York pension fund. The payment comes in addition to the USD6.2m which the former advisor to Obama had already agreed to pay the previous month in order to settle SEC lawsuits.
31/12/2010

Encouraging end of year for hedge funds

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hedge funds posted inflows of USD13.7bn in November, compared with USD10.6bn in October, according to estimates by TrimTabs Investment Research based on a survey of nearly 995 hedge funds. This is the fifth consecutive month of inflows, and the highest total since February. Inflows to funds of funds totalled USD1.2bn in November. In the past five months, funds of funds have attracted only USD5.9bn, compared with USD41bn for hedge funds, and USD12.7bn for CTAs. In the boom times for hedge funds between 2004 and 2007, funds of funds attracted half of new capital invested in hedge funds. In terms of strategy, the Equity Long/Short strategy attracted USD2.6bn in November, while emerging markets funds attracted USD1.9bn, and bond funds, which saw negative returns for the first time in six months, still attracted USD1.8bn. Inflows remained modest in December and January due to redemption demands at the end of the year, but allocation modifications are expected to be favourable for hedge funds. Pension funds will not be able to greatly increase their exposure to equities, due to the increasing age of their subscribers, though bond returns remain at near-zero levels. In other words, the quest for returns calls for the use of hedge funds.
31/12/2010

AFG working group on competitiveness to publish conclusions

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The working group on competitiveness of French regulations created by the French financial management association (AFG), chaired by Arnaud Faller, will complete its work in early 2011, the AFG has announced in its December 2010 newsletter. The working group has met several times since September 2010, and its first conclusions have already formed the basis for talks with the AMF and the Treasury in relation to products, financial management, and the creation of fund managers in France, the letter states. A final report will be released in early 2011.
31/12/2010

Axa continues development in eastern Europe

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Axa group announced on 30 December that it has acquired an 80% stake in the Belorussian firm B&B Insurance, as part of its effort to develop in central and eastern Europe. The acquisition price has not been disclosed to the public. “The acquisition of B&B is an excellent opportunity for AXA to enter the Belorussian market, which is growing rapidly. Here, we would like to reproduce the success of AXA in Ukraine, where we have become the largest insurance provider in only three years, by relying on the geographical and cultural ties between the two countries,” Cyrille de Montgolfier, CEO of AXA central and eastern Europ, explains in a statement. The Belorussian market offers the French insurer major potential for growth, as less than 15% of households now have home insurance. The second-largest Belorussian insurer by size, and the largest private insurer in Belarus, with an overall market share of 10%, B&B Insurance offers exclusively damage insurance products. Premiums issued in 2009 totalled EUR29m. The operation will be finalised in first quarter 2011.
31/12/2010

Romain Boscher takes over as head of equities management at Amundi

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Next month, Romain Boscher will join Amundi, the asset management affiliate controlled 75% by the Crédit Agricole group and 25% by Société Générale, in January, as global head of equities, a newly-created position, Amundi, according to different sources. Boscher, whose departure from Groupama Asset Management was announced earlier this week, will be based in Paris, and will oversee all equities management operations worldwide (London, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong). As of 30 September 2010, assets under management in equities totalled EUR95.7bn. In Paris, equities management will continue to be overseen by Eric Turjeman, former head of equities management at SGAM, before its merger with Amundi.
31/12/2010

Vatican creates an authority to combat money-laundering

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Vatican on 30 December announced that it has published a decree creating a Financial Information Authority (AIF) to combat money-laundering and financing for terrorism, and to ensure compliance with European legislation of the Vatican’s transactions. The publication of the decree, signed by the Pope, comes three months after an investigation was opened in September by the Italian financial authorities into two directors of the Vatican Bank (IOR). The investigation began with the seizure of EUR23m in an account belonging to the establishment. The president of the bank and its CEO are suspected of violations of money-laundering laws. “Peace is unfortunately threatened today by improper use of the market and the economy, and the terrible and destructive violence of terrorism,” Pope Benedict XVI regrets in the preamble to his law (“motu proprio”) creating the financial information authority (AIF). The Vatican says the move is a sign of “transparency, honesty and responsibility,” its spokesman, father Federico Lombardi, explained to the press. In an “apostolic letter” laying out the motives for the law, the Pope says he “approves the engagement of the international community to prevent and combat the phenomenon of money-laundering and financing for terrorism.” “The Holy See plans to make these rules its own,” Pope Benedict XVI adds.
31/12/2010

MiFID directive: CESR publishes a vademecum on publicly traded equities

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), which on 1 January will become the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), on 30 December published a series of rules and a practical guide for the publication of certain information related to publicly traded equities to fulfil transparency requirements laid out in the MiFID directive. In the guide, the CESR details the various information to provide about equities, and the calculations to undertake, and indicates that the results of all these efforts will be made public. In order to respond to the requirements of the directive, the CESR has also set up a dedicated database on its website.

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