Le gestionnaire d’actifs américain Southeastern Asset Management a annoncé le 16 décembre qu’il cède à l’espagnol ACS (dont il détient 6,5 %) la moitié de sa participation de 5,33 % dans l’allemand Hochtief. Cela permet à ACS de monter à 29,84 % de Hochtief, donc très près du seuil de 30 % à partir duquel il pourrait se hisser jusqu'à 50 %, rapporte la Börsen-Zeitung.

Désormais le fonds de fonds DWS Vorsorge Dachfonds, un fonds de fonds spécialiste de la prévoyance retraite, a dépassé le milliard d’euros d’encours. Ce produit investit les contributions aux plans d'épargne-retraite subventionnés Riester et Rürup apportées à des produits DWS dans des fonds de DWS mais aussi, jusqu'à 30 % dans des fonds tiers.

D’après fundstrategy, près de 25% des nouveaux hedge funds lancés au troisième trimestre étaient conformes à la directive Ucits III, selon des statistiques communiquées par Hedge Fund Research.Les stratégies les plus recherchées ont été l’equity hedge et la macro. En revanche, Hedge Fund Research observe peu de lancements dans les stratégies évenementielles (event driven) et dans le secteur des fonds de hedge funds.Sur l’ensemble du trimestre, 260 nouveaux hedge funds ont été lancés contre 201 un trimestre plus tôt. Sur douze mois, on dénombre 945 nouveaux hedge funds. Les liquidations sont revenues à 168 au troisième trimestre contre 177 pour le trimestre précédent.

Ces derniers jours, des rumeurs de cession de la plate-forme Chi-X par ses actionnaires ont ressurgi, rapporte la Tribune qui cite Bloomberg. Ces derniers auraient reçu récemment des offres de la part de Nyse-Euronext, Nasdaq OMX, Bats et DirectEdge. ». Un rachat de Chi-X, aujourd’hui numéro deux ou trois des marchés européens, modifierait fortement le classement et offrirait à son acquéreur davantage de pouvoir en matière de fixation des commissions, précise le quotidien.

Nils Bolmstrand a démissionné de son poste de directeur général (chief executive officer) de Skandia Investment Group (SIG) et sera remplacé temporairement à compter de la fin de l’année par Marc Bulstrode, l’actuel chief operating officer en attendant qu’un successeur lui soit trouvé. Nils Bolmstrand reste dans le groupe Skandia, côté assurance, et devient responsable des produits dans l’activité nordique. Cela lui permet d'être basé en permanence en Suède, au lieu de faire les allers et retours entre Southampton au Royaume-Uni et Stockholm.

Le véhicule d’investissement de l’investisseur activiste Sherborne d’Edward Bramson, lequel a réussi à monter à 17,5 % de F&C, a demandé la tenue d’une assemblée générale extraordinaire, indique le Financial Times.Son objectif est de remplacer Nick MacAndrew au poste de chairman de F&C. Sherborne voudrait égalemet remplacer Brian Larcombe, administrateur non exécutif, par Ian Brindle.

Palaedino Asset Management, société de gestion d’actifs du multi-family office suisse Palaedino, propose les quatre compartiments de sa sicav luxembourgeoise coordonnée Axiom Fund libellés en devise-or, ce qui constitue une première mondiale. Pratiquement, tout montant investi sur ces produits le sera aussi sur des contrats à terme euro-or toutes les deux semaines. Si les fluctuations du cours du métal jaune sont positives, elles s’ajoutent à la performance du fonds, et inversement, note le quotidien.

Palaedino Asset Management, société de gestion d’actifs du multi-family office suisse Palaedino, propose les quatre compartiments de sa sicav luxembourgeoise coordonnée Axiom Fund libellés en devise-or, ce qui constitue une première mondiale. Pratiquement, tout montant investi sur ces produits le sera aussi sur des contrats à terme euro-or toutes les deux semaines. Si les fluctuations du cours du métal jaune sont positives, elles s’ajoutent à la performance du fonds, et inversement, note le quotidien.

Les clients de la société de gestion de hedge funds Paulson & Co peuvent s’attendre à de bons résultats. En effet, selon le Financial Times, le plus gros hedge fund de la société, l’Advantage Plus Fund, a rattrapé sa mauvaise performance du début de l’année 2010.Alors que le fonds était en perte de 11 % sur l’année en septembre, les investissements ont pris de la valeur au cours des dernières semaines, grâce notamment à la forte exposition à l’or, et la performance était de +10,2 % au 10 décembre. Elle s'établit aujourd’hui selon un investisseur à 14,3% sur l’année.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The fund of funds DWS Vorsorge Dachfonds, specialised in retirement planning, now has over EUR1bn in asets. The product invests contributions to Riester and Rürup retirement savings plans in DWS funds, and also up to 30% in third-party funds.

Thierry Callault, CEO of the OFI group, on 16 December announced that at present, assets total about EUR48bn, marking the end of an intervening slump since a total of EUR48.5bn at the end of October. This compared with EUR20.26bn as of the end of 2009, before the arrival of the asset management operations of mutual insurers Matmut and Macif, which have 66% and 34% voting rights, respectively.Of total assets under management, mandates represent about EUR30bn, and mutual funds account for about EUR18bn.Net inflows since the beginning of the year total over EUR1bn for all asset classes combined, Callault says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US management firm Pimco (Allianz Global Investors) has announced that the guidelines for the bond fund Pimco Total Return (USD250bn) will be altered to allow the manager, Bill Gross, to invest up to 10% of the portfolio in preferred stock, convertible bonds and other assets related to equities, but not directly in equities, the Financial Times reports.The announcement provides further fuel to the current controversy over the direction bond markets are expected to take. At any rate, Lipper statistics for November show that the Total Return fund has undergone net redemptions of about USD2bn, its first net outflows for nearly two years.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In 2003, the British management firm F&C opened a branch office in Paris. The office, once led by Bruno Moneron, and then by Aurélien Lafaye, is now empty, following the departure of Lafaye (see Newsmanagers of 6 December 2010).F&C has told Newsmanagers that the French market will now be served from London, where all of its teams are now centralised. “We believe that our French clients can be more effectively serviced by a London-based team which will be closer to the business and the fund managers. (F&C acquired Thames River Capital in September 2010 and all their European business has been run successfully out of [London] for many years). Our clients have been informed and know the client directors who will continue to service them,” a spokesperson for the management firm says.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that BBVA Asset Management, with assets under management of USD200bn, is seeking to sell its Latin American expertise to its Asian clients. With this in mind, BBVA AM is seeking a regional head of sales, who will be based in Hong Kong.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Michael Langlois, managing director and senior vice president at Permal Group, has been appointed head of wholesale distribution, Asia, from January 2011. He will assist Raymondo Yu, the new chairman for Asia Pacific, in a development offensive in Asia for the Ameriprise Financial group, of which Threadneedle is one of the asset management affiliates. Langlois’ mission will be to establish relationships with Asian financial establishments locally, as well as with mid-sized private banks present on the continent. In addition, he will work to recruit high net worth private clients for Threadneedle and Columbia, another management firm of the Ameriprise group.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nearly 25% of new hedge funds launched in third quarter were UCITS III-compliant, according to statistics from Hedge Fund Research. The most sought-after strategies were equity hedge and macro. However, Hedge Fund Research has observed few launches of event-driven strategies or funds of hedge funds. In the quarter as a whole, 260 new hedge funds were launched, compared with 201 in the previous quarter. Over 12 months, there were 945 new hedge funds launched. Liquidations totalled 168 in third quarter, compared with 177 the previous quarter.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } From 3 January 2011, Florence Lombard, founding member of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, will succeed E. Craig Asche as CEO of the association, a statement dated 16 December announced.Lombard was also a founding member and president of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) until the end of 2008.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Clients of the hedge fund management firm Paulson & Co can look forward to good results. The Financial Times reports that the largest hedge fund from the firm, the Advantage Plus Fund, has made up for its poor performance in the first part of 2010. Though the fund showed a loss of 11% for the year to September, its investments have gained value in the past few weeks, largely thanks to its high exposure to gold, and its returns were +10.2% as of 10 December. One investor says that returns now total 14.3% for the year.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Le Temps reports that at the last European summit of the year, EU heads of state and government accepted the conditions of Germany and agreed to the creation of the future permanent emergency support facility for the Euro zone. “Member states of the Euro zone are authorised to create a stability mechanism which will be activated if it proves indispensable to guarantee the stability of the euro as a whole,” the text says. The declared objective is to have the fund in place by 2013.

In November, total assets under management registered a slight decline of USD2.55 billion, bringing the total size of the industry to USD1.64 trillion, according to Eurekahedge. Asset flows for the month were marginal to slightly negative, with net outflows of US$0.19 billion while performance-based declines accounted for losses of USD2.36 billion.Assets in Asian hedge funds crossed USD125 billion for the first time since December 2008. North American hedge funds witnessed 10 consecutive months of net positive asset flows, attracting USD56.22 billion over this period.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Cantonal Bank of Valais (BCVs) has reaffirmed that the development of the private banking sector will be among its top strategic priorities, Agefi Switzerland reports. The BCVs prefers the open architecture model and has no funds of its own. It prefers management mandates and high added value products. “The evolution of the international context in wealth management is transforming the fact that BCVs has no international ties into an advantage, as it means the firm is free from any foreign pressures,” says Nicolas Debons, the new head of the activity.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US asset management firm Southeastern Asset Management on 16 December announced that it is selling half of its 5.33% stake in the German firm Hochtief to the Spanish firm ACS (in which it controls a 6.5% stake). This will allow ACS to increase its stake in Hochtief to 29.84%, very near the 30% threshold. From there it may increase its stake to 50%, the Börsen-Zeitung reports.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US management firm Stralem & Company (USD3bn in assets), a specialist in large caps, has recruited Manfred Müller, former head of wholesale at F&C in Frankfurt, as head of wholesale for open-ended funds in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Nils Bolmstrand has resigned from his position as chief executive officer of Skandia Investment Group (SIG), and will be temporarily replaced from the end of the year by Marc Bulstrode, the current chief operating officer, until a successor can be found. Bolmstrand will remain at the Skandia group, in the insurance division, and will become head of products for Scandinavian activities. The move will allow him to be permanently based in Sweden, rather than commuting between Southampton in the UK and Stockholm.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the past few days, there has been a resurgence of rumours of a sale of the Chi-X platform by its shareholders, La Tribute reports, citing Bloomberg. Shareholders are said to have recently received offers from Nyse-Euronext, Nasdaq OMX, Bats and DirectEdge. An acquisition of Chi-X, which is currently the numbe rtwo or three player in European markets, would strongly alter the rankings, and would give its acquirer more commission-pricing power, the newspaper reports.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Basel Committee on 16 December published the final text of Basel III, including all rules governing owners’ equity at banks, which will be required to be trebled in order to prevent potential financial shocks in the future. The final text confirms the planned ratios and deadlines. Basel III requires banks to establish a minimal Tier I ratio of over 7%, which includes a “safety cushion” of 2.5%. Some changes have been made in other areas, such as the new set of international liquidity standards, which will give countries such as Denmark and Australia more flexibility. These countries and some others have a small government and corporate debt market, which could make it more difficult for them to adhere to Basel III criteria that expect most of the new safety cushion to be constituted from high-rated government bond issues. By the new rules, Denmark and Australia will be allowed to incorporate government debt from other countries and increase the proportion of secured bonds, which are subject to larger discounts. The Basel Committee has also published the results of a Basel III impact study covering 263 establishments worldwide. One of the main points in Basel III requires that by January 2019, establishments will be required to achieve a “hard” owners’ equity ratio (including social capital and profits which are not redistributed) of 7% of liabilities. Previously, the required percentage was 2%. If this measure had been applied at the end of 2009, the 94 largest banks on the planet (with owners’ equity of over EUR3bn) would have been short by EUR577bn in owners’ equity. A second group of 169 banks would have needed EUR25bn. “The transitional period (until 2019) gives banks all the time they need to deploy the new standards in a way that is in keeping with a healthy economic recovery, while consolidating protections in the system against economic and financial shocks,” the chairman of the Basel Committee, Nout Wellink, says in a statement.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Ingenico group announced on 16 December that it has obtained ISO 14001 certification for all of its corporate activities. The international certification “illustrates Ingenico’s desire to control the impact of its activities and products on the environment, and to continue the deployment of its Management System,” the group says in a statement. Ingenico’s major engagements are to be exemplary in its observation of the applicable environmental prescriptions, the taking into account of the environmental dimension in its product design, the deployment of a responsible purchasing policy which integrates environmental criteria, and increasing the awareness of employees.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The San Francisco financial services firm Stone & Youngberg LLC has been sentenced by an arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) to reimburse USD750,000 to the Kay Family Revocable Trust of Lenore and Charles Bleadon, the Wall Street Journal reports.The regulator finds that Stone & Youngberg advised the family trust to invest in a feeder fund for Madoff Securities, but did not engage in any meaningful due diligence, in complete disregard to its fiduciary duty to its clients.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The French financial asset management association (AFG) on 16 December announced the appointment of Bernard Descreux (La Banque Postale Asset Management) as chairman of the AFG management techniques commission. He succeeds Jean-François Boulier (CEO, Aviva Investors Europe).Descreux has been a board member at La Banque Postale AM (LBPAM) since 1999. Since 2001, he is in charge of bond management, diversified equities, and engineering and intermediation services. He is also chairman of La Banque Postale Structured Asset Management and AMlab, an incubator for innovative management firms, both of which are affiliates of LBPAM.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Companies with a high likelihood of default monitored by Moody’s (“B3 Negative and Lower Corporate Ratings”) have cumulative debt of over USD100bn that will mature between 2011 and 2015, according to a study recently published by the ratings agency. The number of companies exposed to defaults fell to 182 from a peak of nearly 300 in first half 2009. The development reflects an improvement in the quality of credit for companies in the speculative category, but many of the remaining companies will be facing significant refinancing needs. About 42% of the debt concerned has a negative outlook, while only 15% of the total has a positive outlook.