En novembre, les actifs des fonds de pension américains ont baissé moins rapidement que les engagements, ce qui a pour résultat un taux de couverture moyen de 80,5 %, selon les chiffres mensuels de BNY Mellon Asset Management. C’est une légère amélioration par rapport au mois d’octobre, où le ratio de financement avait atteint en moyenne 80,3 %.

Le groupe de gestion alternative Carlyle a indiqué avoir pris une part de 55% dans le hedge fund Claren Road Asset Management pour un montant non divulgué. Claren Road Asset Management détient 4,5 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion. La transaction comprend un paiement en cash, une participation dans Carlyle et des versements complémentaires basés sur la performance.

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) a annoncé qu’il mettait fin à un mandat de 8 millions de livres confié à Ben Wallace de Gartmore au sein du fonds UK Strategic Best Ideas (62 millions de livres) en raison de performances décevantes.Le mandat a certes surperformé l’indice FTSE All Share de 10 points de pourcentage depuis son lancement il y a trois ans, mais fait moins bien que bon nombre d’autres gérants.Le mandat sera distribué entre les différents gérants du fonds, en autres Mark Lyttleton de BlackRock, Paul Casson de Henderson, Tim Steer d’Artemis et Julius Lipner d’Aviva Investors.

Le London Stock Exchange a annoncé le 8 décembre avoir admis à la négociation le HSBC MSCI Turkey ETF disponible en parts libellées en dollars ou en livres sterling. Ce fonds d’actions de droit irlandais (IE00B5BRQB73), qui pratique la réplication physique, est chargé à 0,60 %. C’est le douzième ETF de HSBC en Europe.

Le Groupe BCV (Banque cantonale vaudoise) a annoncé le 8 décembre le rachat pour un montant non divulgué de la Banque Franck Galland & Cie S.A. des mains du Groupe Johnson Financial et sa fusion avec la Banque Piguet & Cie S.A. filiale du Groupe BCV. La nouvelle entité – Banque Piguet Galland & Cie S.A. – sera principalement orientée vers le marché suisse et figurera parmi les principaux acteurs de la banque privée en Suisse romande. Pour le Groupe BCV, «cette opération s’inscrit dans le cadre des priorités de développement au sein de son portefeuille d’activités, notamment sa volonté stratégique de croissance dans la gestion de fortune onshore annoncée en novembre 2008", souligne un communiqué. Avec des actifs sous gestion d’environ 8 milliards de francs suisses, la nouvelle Banque Piguet Galland & Cie S.A. se situera parmi les principaux acteurs de la gestion de fortune en Suisse romande. Elle offrira un service de proximité et haut de gamme à la clientèle de Suisse romande avec l’objectif d’augmenter significativement sa masse sous gestion à moyen terme. La Banque Piguet Galland & Cie S.A. sera présente à Genève, Lausanne, Lugano, Neuchâtel, Nyon et Yverdon-les-Bains. Ses centres administratifs seront installés à Genève et à Yverdon-les-Bains où se trouvera également son siège social. Dans le cadre du développement de ses activités, la nouvelle Banque cherchera, à terme, à élargir son territoire géographique. Les clients des deux partenaires désormais réunis conserveront leur gestionnaire tout en bénéficiant d’un service élargi (compétences accrues dans les domaines de l’analyse financière et du crédit). L’opération devrait permettre de dégager des synergies évaluées à près de 5-6 millions de francs suisses par année. Le nouvel établissement devant compter à terme environ 160 collaborateurs, une réduction d’une trentaine de postes de travail est envisagée, principalement par le biais de départs naturels.

La société spécialisée dans l’investissement responsable SAM a annoncé le 8 décembre la nomination de Michael Baldinger en qualité de directeur général à compter du 1er janvier 2011. Michael Baldinger était depuis l’an dernier responsable «Global Clients & Marketing» et membre du comité exécutif de SAM. Tout en assumant ses nouvelles fonctions, il assumera ses anciennes responsabilités en attendant la nomination d’un successeur. Michael Baldinger prend la succession de Sander van Eijkern, qui a quitté la firme en février dernier en raison de divergences de vues sur la stratégie.Le nouveau CEO sera responsable de la stratégie et du développement des activités de SAM. Il devrait notamment explorer les voies d’une coopération approfondie avec la maison mère Robeco.

Le 8 décembre, Mirabaud a annoncé le lancement à Genève d’une plate-forme de courtage destinée à une clientèle institutionnelle internationale, Mirabaud Securities LLP – Representative Office Switzerland. Elle doit permettre aux aux clients institutionnels internationaux, d’effectuer des opérations boursières sur les marchés européens. Cette plate-forme, qui offre un accès «privilégié» aux marchés des actions et des dérivés des marchés cotés et non cotés en dehors de Suisse, dépend directement du bureau de Londres, Mirabaud Securities LLP, membre du London Stock Exchange (LSE). cette structure basée à Genève comptera cinq collaborateurs dont Oliver Dufek et Laurent Angliviel de La Beaumelle. Ce dernier rejoindra la nouvelle entité au 1er trimestre 2011.Mirabaud Securities LLP – Representative Office Switzerland travaillera en étroite collaboration avec le bureau londonien qui assurera l’exécution des transactions de ses clients. Placée sous la surveillance consolidée des autorités helvétique (FINMA) et britannique (FSA), la nouvelle entité prendra ses quartiers dans les locaux de la rue du Stand 58 à Genève. «Dans le domaine du courtage, Mirabaud assume le rôle d’agency broker, c’est-à-dire que nous intervenons comme intermédiaire et conseiller sans jamais investir pour notre propre compte. Ceci, pour offrir à nos clients la meilleure exécution possible et pour éviter tout conflit d’intérêts», souligne Antonio Palma, associé et CEO de Mirabaud.Le communiqué annonce également au passage que Giles Morland, sera associé de Mirabaud à partir du 1er janvier 2011. L’intéressé est actuellement responsable des servicesd’intermédiation pour l’ensemble de Mirabaud.

Après avoir ouvert un bureau à Milan, le suisse Julius Baer en a ouvert un autre à Rome, via Ludovisi 35. La nouvelle antenne de conseil en investissement et de gestion de fortune est dirigée par Andrea Torlonia, qui vient de Duemme SGR (Banca Esperia), où il dirigeait la gestion pour le compte de clients institutionnels. L’annonce de cette nouvelle ouverture a été faite le 9 décembre à Milan par Julius Baer SIM.

Le système de comptabilité de fonds SimCorp Dimension est désormais opérationnel chez Oberbank, dont le siège est situé à Linz (Land de Haute-Autriche), indique le danois SimCorp le 8 décembre. Dimension sert de plateforme stratégique de gestion d’investissement, pour la banque de dépôts, l’administration de fonds, l’IFRS et la conformité. L’utilisation de la précédente plateforme, Sungard V3, a été totalement abandonnée.Le reporting légal a également été optimisé. Le reporting de fin d’année et les rapports de solvabilité sont générés directement par SimCorp Dimension. Les données de fonds nécessaires au reporting à la Banque centrale autrichienne (ÖNB) sont soumises à l’autorité de contrôle bancaire autrichien (OeKB) via l’interface intégrée FundsXML.

Le secteur des hedge funds a enregistré une collecte nette de 16 milliards de dollars au mois d’octobre, selon les statistiques publiées par Trim Tabs Investment Research et BarclayHedge. Il s’agit du quatrième mois consécutif de collecte nette, avec un montant jamais vu depuis novembre 2009.Les hedge funds ont aussi enregistré une performance de 1,95% en octobre et de 7,10% pour les quatre mois suivant la glissade de mai-juin.Les fonds de distressed securities ont notamment drainé 3,8 milliards de dollars, soit 3,3% des actifs, en octobre, alors que les fonds dédiés aux marchés émergents ont attiré 2,2 milliards de dollars.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Hennessee hedge fund index has posted returns of 0.32% in November, compared with 2.01% in October and 3.71% in September. Since the beginning of the year, the index has gained 7.12%. The best results in the first eleven months of the year were for the event-driven strategy, at 13.24%, followed by distressed (10.32%), convertibles arbitrage (9.01%), and emerging markets (8.62%). In November, however, convertibles arbitrage and emerging markets have lost 0.93% and 1.43%. Event-driven strategies, for their part, lost 0.30%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a notification published in La Tribune on 8 December 2010, Financière Van Eyck has announced the appointment of Christophe Bonasse as deputy director. He was previously director of the team in charge of development of associations and charities at Quilvest Banque Privée.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to reports in Das Investment, Franklin Templeton has announced to its distribution partners that from 1 March 2011, Norman Boersma will become the manager of the Templeton Growth Fund, and its European clone, Templeton Growth (Euro). Boersma joined Templeton in 1991. Until recently, he was director of Templeton Global Equity Group. Cindy Sweeting, who in late 2007 succeeded Murdo Murchison as head of the Growth Fund, will remain as head of the portfolio management team, but will be based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the move is the reason that she will be giving up management of the Growth Fund. Along with the new head of the global equity group, Gary Motyl, she will focus on the strategic orientation of portfolios and risk management processes.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The hedge fund sector has posted net inflows of USD16bn in the month of October, according to statistics published by Trim Tabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge. This is the fourth consecutive month of inflows, on a scale not seen since November 2009. Hedge funds have also posted inflows of 1.95% for October and 7.10% for the four months since the slide in May and June. Distressed securities funds, in particular, attracted USD3.8bn, or 3.3% of assets, in October, while funds dedicated to emerging markets attracted USD2.2bn.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } After opening an office in Milan, the Swiss management firm Julius Baer has opened another in Rome, at via Ludovisi 35. The new investment advising and wealth management location is directed by Andrea Torlonia, who joins from Duemme SGR (Banca Esperia), where he was head of management for institutional clients. The announcement of the new opening was made on 9 December in Milan by Julius Baer SIM.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Amundi ETF on 8 December announced an extension of its range of emerging markets tracker products, with the listing on Nyse Euronext Paris of Amundi ETF MSCI Emerging Markets and Amundi ETF Global Emerging Bond Markit Iboxx. “With this launch, we are adding to our range of emerging markets ETFs, which already includes China, India, Brazil, and Eastern Europe. In the Amundi ETF range, investors now have access to two essential elements for their portfolio allocation at very competitive prices,” says Valérie Baudson, director of Amundi ETF, cited in a statement. With these two new products, Amundi now has 93 ETFs. Amundi ETF MSCI Emerging Markets (ISIN: FR0010959676) offers exposure to the largest caps of emerging equities markets. Amundi ETF MSCI Emerging Markets, which is eligible for PEA, aims to replicate both upward and downward evolutions oof the MSCI Emerging Markets index. This index, a benchmark for many investors, allows exposure to the evolution of 20 emerging markets, and covers 85% of the market capitalisation of each country. Amundi ETF Global Emerging Bond Markit Iboxx (ISIN: FR0010959668), for its part, is designed to provide exposure to the foreign debt of emerging countries. This ETF aims to replicate both upward and downward evolutions of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Emerging Markets Sovereigns index. This index is composed of bond issues denominated in US dollars, from 20 emerging countries whose minimal rating is CCC (or equivalent at S&P, Moody’s and Fitch). The choice of this new index is largely based on its many advantages related to its strict construction regulations to ensure good diversification and liquidity of its underlyings, while remaining representative of the emerging market bond universe. The first of these ETFs charges 0.45%, while the second charges 0.30%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Australian firm Macquarie will launch a fourth European fund with several billion euros in assets to invest in infrastructure in a few months, Reuters reports. According to a source cited by the agency, “The group will raise a first round of capital privately, and will announce the creation of the fund once this round is raised, most likely in spring.”

Amundi will in a few months launch ETFs in the United Kingdom, Olivier Paquier, ETF product specialist at Amundi, announced at the Edhec-Risk Instituional Days 2010 conference. The firm, which now has a range of about 100 ETFs, is thus far present in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Benelux. Now, “we are looking at what other markets we might enter in order to go global,” says Paquier. The UK is a part of this strategy.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Irving Picard, the legally-appointed trustee for the businesses of Bernard Madoff, on 7 December filed another lawsuit against UBS, seeking USD555m. The Swiss group responded on 8 December in a statement, calling the trustee’s position incomprehensible and baseless. The trustee had already filed a first legal action against UBS and Access International Advisors LLC on 24 November (see Newsmanagers of 25 November 2010), seeking USD2bn for what he claims is their presumed implication in the Ponzi scheme operated by Madoff. UBS is accused of setting up feeder funds through which clients’ money was piped to the investment vehicle operated by the former Nasdaq president. The legally-appointed trustee has also filed suits against JPMorgan Chase & Co and HSBC, seeking USD6.4bn and USD9bn, respectively. The previous day, Picard filed suits against BNP Paribas, Legacy Capital and Khronos Capital Research, among others, according to documents submitted to the US courts.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Irish government has several ideas to reduce aversion to its government debt, Agefi reports. Domestic private pension funds may become major buyers of newly-issued bonds due to a proposed reform in the 2011 budget unveiled last Tuesday. In exchange for buying government bonds with long maturities, pension funds would be allowed to value their liabilities on the basis of high Irish interest rates.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In November, assets in US pension funds fell less rapidly than liabilities, resulting in an average coverage rate of 80.5%, according to statistics from BNY Mellon Asset Management. This represents a slight improvement compared with October, when the coverage ratio averaged 80.3%.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Singapore sovereign fund GIC, China Investment Corporation (CIC) and the investment board of Abu Dhabi (ADIC) have participated in a capital increase operation at the Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual, Finance Asia reports. A consortium of international investors, including GIC, CIC, a Canadian pension fund, ADIC and the private equity investment group JC Flowers, made major contributions to the USD1.8bn capital increase, representing an 18.65% stake. BTG Pactual will use the proceeds from the operation to develop its core professions: investment banking, asset management and wealth management.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Wednesday, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Securities, filed a new round of lawsuits, seeking money from five grandchildren of Madoff, and seeking to recuperate USD1.4bn from seven banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. He accuses Citibank, Natixis, Fortis Prime Fund Solutions Bank (Ireland), ABN Amro Bank, BBVA, Nomura Bank International and Merrill Lynch International of failing to notice signs of fraud. He is also suing the administrators for Madoff in the United Kingdom for USD80m. Picard is under pressure to claw back money, as Federal law allows him to file lawsuits only until Saturday, the anniversary of Madoff’s arrest.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The European Commission on 8 December announced the launch of a consultation on revisions to the financial market instruments (MiFID) directive, as part of a strategy to create a more transparent and stable financial system. The directive, which has been in force since November 2007, increased competitiveness and integration on the financial markets of the EU, and considerably improved investor protection.However, rapid advances in technology, the complexity and volatility of financial markets, and the lessons of the financial crisis militate for “a profound revision” whenever insufficiencies are observed or improvements are deemed necessary, the Commission says in a statement.The objective of the consultation is to gather contributions from all parties concerned, to inform legislative proposals planned for spring 2011. The deadline has been set for 2 February 2011.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Businesses accompanied by French private equity actors “have shown resistance to a particularly complicated environment,” according to the 2010 edition of a study undertaken by the French private equity association AFIC and Ernst & Young, which surveyed 1,658 businesses, 1,219 of them SMBs. The businesses concerned managed to limit losses of revenues and staff. The study shows a decline in French earnings (-5.9% between 2008 and 2009), well as a moderate decline in French staff (-1.8%). These results compare with a fall in earnings for businesses of the CAC 40 (-6.8%) in the same period. The decline in staff was also more markets for businesses of the CAC 40 (-2.8%) and for all businesses of the French private sector (-2.0%). These results, however, reveal contrasted developments depending on the stage of development, size and sector of the businesses concerned. Businesses in a venture capital phase held out particularly well in the difficult environment of this period. Staff also remained stable (-0.2%), while earnings fell by only 2.6%. Businesses in a transmission phase lost 9.2% of earnings, but limited staff reductions to 2.9%. Businesses in a creation or post-creation phase, which were more sensitive to the crisis, adjusted their costs rapidly: staff fell by 8% between 2008 and 2009, while earnings fell by 7.1%. A detailed analysis of results, however, finds that among the 100 largest businesses ranked by revenues, nearly 60% of layoffs and 50% of decline in earnings were at the 25 publicly traded businesses which responded to the survey. The other 75 businesses in the top 100, however, held out well through the crisis. While retaining stable staff levels (+0.2%), these businesses prepared for their exit from the crisis. Though the construction sector appears to be the hardest-hit by the economic environment, the medical and biotech sectors, as well as IT, show the best results. The energy sector has even seen an increase in staff (+6.3%) and earnings (+1.3%). Hervé Schricke, president of AFIC, says “investors have shown their role as long-term companions, supporting businesses in their portfolios. They have reinjected their own equity when the businesses needed it: no less than 64% of investments in 2009 were reinvestments. The recently-published study also reveals a need for stable financing for innovation, as the development cycle may be affected more violently by unfavourable conjunctures.”

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The alternative management group Carlyle has announced that it has acquired a 55% stake in the hedge fund Claren Road Asset Management, for an undisclosed amount. Claren Road Asset Management has USD4.5bn in assets under management. The transaction includes a cash payment, a stake in Carlyle and complementary payments based on performance.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } A survey of about 400 German professional investors on their allocations to hedge funds finds that the usage rates vary widely among these vehicles, depending on the category of subscribers they serve. The 74-page study finds that among the 30 family offices surveyed by Man Investments and its distributor for Germany and Austria, apano GmbH, 53.3% already have hedge funds in their portfolios. For the 102 wholesale managers (funds of funds, wealth managers, private bankers and investment consultants), the percentage who use hedge funds falls to 26%. It comes to 21% for the 159 IFAs surveyed, and slightly under 11% for investments or securities advisers at banks. The authors of the study conclude that the major lesson of the survey is that the propensity of German institutional investors to invest depends on their degree of familiarity with and knowledge of hedge funds, as well as on the experience that they have had with products of this type. This explains the fact that the penetration rate is lowest among financial advisers at banks, who are considered insufficiently informed to be able to actively promote products of this type, and who are also the population for whom the risk involved in hedge funds appears to be highest. The fact that hedge funds are not more widely used in the portfolios of family offices and wholesalers, however, is attributed to product offerings which are still not sufficiently attractive. These two categories, however, invest considerably in UCITS III funds, while IFAs and bank advisers prefer funds of funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The London Stock Exchange on 8 December announced that it has admitted the HSBC MSCI Turkey ETF fund, available in shares denominated in US dollars or pounds Sterling, to trading. The Irish-registered equities fund (IE00B5BRQB73), which relies on physical replication, charges 0.60%. It is the twelfth ETF from HSBC in Europe.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to a report by the consultant DTZ for third quarter, foreign investment funds have bought more than 56% of the real estate properties sold in Spain this year, Cotizalia reports. This percentage remains similar to that observed in 2008 and 2009. Many foreign institutional funds are planning to invest EUR100m each in Spain. At the end of third quarter 2010, the volume of sales on the Spanish tertiary market represented EUR1.18bn, compared with EUR489m in all of 2009.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that Northern Trust Global Investments, the asset management unit of the US group Northern Trust, has recruited Chen Ee-Fang as director of sales in Singapore, a newly-created position. Chen, who will concentrate her efforts on the development of activities in south-east Asia, previously worked at Martin Currie as director of development for Asia.