Selon Citywire, tous les gérants et les autres salariés de Gartmore ont été informés officiellement par la direction qu’ils allaient être consultés concernant des suppressions d’emplois. En début de semaine, la société de gestion avait annoncé un programme d’économies de coûts de 10 millions de livres.

Sam Morse de Fidelity va reprendre la gestion du trust European Values (530 millions de livres) le 1er janvier, en remplacement de Sudipto Banerji, rapporte Investment Week. Le gérant est déjà chargé du fonds Fidelity European (3 milliards de livres), depuis le début de cette année.

Le britannique JO Hambro Capital Management a annoncé le 11 novembre sa décision de fermer provisoirement son fonds d’actions britanniques, le JOHCM UK Equity Income Fund, aux nouveaux souscripteurs en raison d’une forte collecte nette au cours des dernières semaines.Les actifs du fonds s’inscrivaient à 616 millions de livres au 9 novembre dernier, et compte tenu d’une forte collecte quotidienne, le plafond de 750 millions de livres fixé au lancement du fonds fin 2004 pourrait être atteint à bref délai, explique JO Hambro CM dans un communiqué. Le fonds affiche au 31 octobre 2010 un rendement de 9,97% sur trois ans, de 45,55% sur cinq ans et de 66,55% depuis son lancement le 30 novembre 2004. Au 30 septembre dernier, les actifs sous gestion de la société de gestion s’inscrivaient à 5,4 milliards de livres.

Selon l’Agefi, la société de private equity Apollo a racheté la branche d’investissement immobilier de Citigroup afin de la combiner avec sa propre division immobilière. Citi Property Investor disposait de plus de 3 milliards de dollars d’actifs sous gestion au 30 juin, précise le quotidien.

La capacité des hedge funds à dégager de l’alpha diminue à mesure que leur taille augmente, démontre une étude de Spring Mountain Capital citée dans le Wall Street Journal. «Il est difficile pour les gros fonds de trouver des actifs suffisamment liquides, et néanmoins incompris, pour générer de l’alpha. Une fois que le fonds dépasse le 1,5 milliard de dollars, la seule chose qui augmente est son exposition au marché générique», indique Haim Mozes, co-auteur de l’étude et professeur associé de comptabilité à l’Université de Fordham à New York.

En octobre dernier, la société de gestion Viveris Reim a fait agréer pour la première fois deux OPCI grand public, dont l’un sera éligible à un contrat d’assurance vie (et à un compte-titres) d’une compagnie dont le nom n’est pas encore divulgué, rapporte l’Agefi. Pour ce faire, le gestionnaire a opté pour la transformation d’une SCI Acavi (société civile à capital variable immobilier logeant ici les immeubles utilisés dans le cadre d’une assurance vie), déjà détenue par l’assureur, en SPPICAV (société à prépondérance immobilière à capital variable).Parallèlement à ce produit grand public, Viveris Reim lancera un second OPCI retail qui retiendra des immeubles à haute performance énergétique, note le quotidien.

En octobre dernier, la société de gestion Viveris Reim a fait agréer pour la première fois deux OPCI grand public, dont l’un sera éligible à un contrat d’assurance vie (et à un compte-titres) d’une compagnie dont le nom n’est pas encore divulgué, rapporte l’Agefi. Pour ce faire, le gestionnaire a opté pour la transformation d’une SCI Acavi (société civile à capital variable immobilier logeant ici les immeubles utilisés dans le cadre d’une assurance vie), déjà détenue par l’assureur, en SPPICAV (société à prépondérance immobilière à capital variable).Parallèlement à ce produit grand public, Viveris Reim lancera un second OPCI retail qui retiendra des immeubles à haute performance énergétique, note le quotidien.

Selon la Tribune, les banques françaises intéressées par le rachat de Pioneer, la filiale de gestion d’actifs d’UniCredit doivent remettre ce lundi leurs offres préliminaires qui comprendront une prise de contrôle de Pioneer, assortie d’un accord de distribution de ses produits dans les réseaux d’UniCredit en Italie, en Allemagne et en Europe de l’Est. «UniCredit privilégiera les offres comprenant du cash dans la mesure où les candidats devraient proposer un paiement majoritairement en titres», prévoit le quotidien. Certaines banques affichent des atouts non négligeables dans la course au rachat. Le modèle d’Amundi correspond selon la Tribune à celui d’UniCredit, à savoir un rapprochement de sociétés de gestion qui distribuent leurs produits dans des réseaux de banque de détail. L’avantage de BNP Paribas réside dans sa capacité financière à payer en cash. Enfin, Natixis dispose d’une présence significative aux Etats-Unis permettant d’intégrer Pioneer avec ses autres boutiques. Mais «selon plusieurs sources, elle ne serait pas disposée à verser du cash à UniCredit», conclut le quotidien.

Spécialisée dans l’immobilier de centre ville, la jeune société de gestion Urban Premium vient d’obtenir l’agrément pour son premier OPCI, Urban Retail Invest SEL (Ndlr : SEL pour sans effet de levier). Ce produit de type SPPICAV à règles de fonctionnement allégées sera investi majoritairement dans des commerces de centre-ville français de type « prime », c’est-à-dire situés dans les meilleures artères commerçantes. Le solde, environ 40 %, sera placé dans des actifs en périphérie, comme les parcs d’activité commerciaux et galeries commerciales. L’OPCI, d’une durée de 6 ans, s’adressera aux investisseurs institutionnels et professionnels, auprès desquels Urban Premium espère lever 120 millions d’euros. L’OPCI sera géré par quatre gérants, dont deux seniors, Lionel Nicolas et Nino Amor. Ils s’occuperont également d’un autre OPCI qui aura la même stratégie d’acquisition, mais qui bénéficiera d’un effet de levier. «Pour palier tout conflit d’intérêt entre les deux produits, nous avons mis en place une règle d’allocation des opportunités d’investissements. Pour les investissements en centre ville, toutes les opportunités jusqu’à 5 millions d’euros seront allouées au fonds avec effet de levier et celles de plus de 5 millions au fonds sans effet de levier. Pour les actifs de périphérie, la limite a été fixée à 15 millions d’euros», explique Nino Amor. Le second OPCI, qui devrait être lancé prochainement, visera les 50 millions d’euros d’encours. «L’intérêt de l’immobilier commercial de centre-ville est qu’il est très résistant et moins cyclique que l’immobilier de bureaux par exemple. De plus, si on choisit bien l’emplacement, dans des artères très commerçantes, on peut être sûr qu’il y aura toujours de la demande», explique Lionel Nicolas. Urban Premium développe parallèlement une gamme de SCPI sur les immeubles de centre ville en rénovation. Il s’agit des premiers produits d’Urban Premium, créée en juin par quatre associés, dont Philippe Brosse, l’ancien patron de SGAM Alternative Investments. Les autres actionnaires, qui détiennent chacun un quart du capital de 1 million d’euros, sont Franck Temim, président, Laurent Assayag et François Larrère.Ses fondateurs ont choisi de spécialiser leur société dans l’immobilier de centre ville, résidentiel ou commercial, un segment qu’ils jugent plus résistant que les autres aux aléas de l’économie, et sur lequel ils pensent avoir une valeur ajoutée, grâce un important réseau de contacts. Enfin, ils estiment que ce secteur est à l’heure actuelle porteur, compte tenu du mouvement de renouvellement de la plupart des centre-villes dans le cadre des programmes de renouvellement urbain.

La ministre de l'économie Christine Lagarde a salué le 12 novembre dans un communiqué l’accord trouvé au Parlement européen sur la régulation des hedge funds. Le Parlement européen a entériné à une très large majorité, le compromis trouvé entre ministres des finances lors du Conseil Ecofin, le 19 octobre dernier. Le communiqué de Bercy souligne notamment que la nouvelle autorité européenne des marchés, l’Esma, voit son rôle consacré, avec l’affirmation de ses pouvoirs d’urgence en cas de risque d’atteinte à la stabilité et à l’intégrité des marchés financiers de l’Union européenne posé par un fonds alternatif: le cas échéant, l’Esma pourra, en effet, enjoindre les superviseurs nationaux de prendre des actions correctrices. Bercy relève qu’un accroissement des compétences de l’Esma, notamment en matière d’octroi du passeport et de supervision, sera par ailleurs examiné en 2017 par la Commission. «A terme, le nouveau régulateur européen pourrait donc devenir le guichet unique pour les autorisations de commercialisation et la supervision, unifiant le régime existant sous forme d’un passeport unique européen», peut-on lire dans le communiqué.Bercy rappelle enfin que la directive comprend des garanties très importantes pour la protection des épargnants et la lutte contre le risque systémique et répond ainsi à l’engagement pris au sommet du G20 de Washington de «ne laisser aucun acteur, aucun instrument de la finance mondiale non régulé ou supervisé».

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Saturday the second of three auctions of furniture, accessories and items from the household of Bernard Madoff was held at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thousands of items went under the hammer, including pre-worn shoes. An anonymous buyer paid USD550,000 for a 10.5 carat diamond which belonged to the wife of the fraudster. Another anonymous bidder carried off a collection of clothing and footwear for USD6,000. A Steinway piano was sold for USD42,000, six times its reserve price.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Citywire reports that all managers and other employees at Gartmore have been officially informed by management that they will be consulted concerning layoffs. At the beginning of the week, the management firm announced a GBP10m cost reduction program.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian hedge funds are continuing to perform well. According to data from Hedge Fund Research, the HFRX China index has gained 5.5% in the first nine months of the year, an outperformance of nearly 25% compared with the Shanghai Composite index. In light of these good returns, assets invested in Asian hedge funds have increased by nearly USD4bn, to USD78bn, including net inflows of over USD300m, Hedgeweek reports. Nearly two thirds of capital allocated to hedge funds dedicated to Asia were invested in equities strategies, while overall, the proportion dedicated to equities is less than one third.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In the first ten months of the year, Julius Baer has posted an increase of 14% to its assets under management since the end of 2009, at CHF175bn. Client assets increased 12% to CHF271bn.Net subscriptions ranged from 4% to 6% in the period, in line with the mid-term objective established by the bank.Julius Baer says that the largest growth in its activities was for emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as Germany.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The management boutique VAM Funds on has announced the forthcoming launch of two new funds on 19 November, one dedicated to government bonds, and the other to commodities. The Global Government Bond fund, structured as a UCITS fund, will aim for net returns of 4% after commissions. It will be managed by the Swiss boutique, based in Lausanne Peers. Allocation at launch will be to government bonds from Germany (40.48%), the UK (13.4%), the US (12.18%), Japan (10%), France (9.91%), Australia (5.22%), and Canada (4.97%). Minimal investment is GBP5,000, with management fees of 1.2% per year. The other vehicle, specialised in securities related to commodities, will be managed by Fleming family and Partners. Minimal investment is USD10,000, with management fees of 2.25% per year.

In September, European funds had net subscriptions of only EUR3bn, according to the most recent Lipper statistics. Without money market funds, inflows total EUR22bn, nearly the same level as the previous month. Bond funds made a significant contribution to that total, attracting EUR16bn, of which EUR5bn went to only 5 funds. The funds were the Templeton Global Bond Fund, Pimco Funds – Total Return Bond Fund, Axa IM FIIS – US Short Duration High Yield, Templeton Global Total Return Fund, and Schroder ISF-Emerging Markets Debt Absolute Return. This means Allianz/Pimco was the most successful group in September, with net inflows of EUR3bn, bringing its net inflows to funds excluding money markets in the first three quarters to EUR17.1bn. But since the beginning of the year, Franklin Templeton has been the best in terms of inflows, with EUR23.9bn. For equities, Lipper notes the strong interest of investors in emerging markets (EUR2.3bn) and for the Asia-Pacific region (EUR2.1bn). And in this area, among asset management firms, Deutsche Bank stands out for the month with net inflows of EUR2.3bn, largely thanks to its db x-trackers ETF range. Excluding ETFs, four firms posted net subscriptions of over EUR300m to equities for the month: Aberdeen (EUR870m), Franklin Templeton, Carmignac, and Comgest. In geographical terms, the most dynamic countries were the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Markets dominated by banks, such as Spain, France and Italy, underwent redemptions. France alone saw net redemptions of EUR1.1bn, excluding money market funds.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Caja Madrid has started its end-of-year campaign with the launch of the “Plan Protegido Bolsa Europa Caja Madrid,” a guaranteed pension fund, Expansión reports. The product, which matures in February 2016, guarantees 100% of capital plus 7% for each year that the value of all equities in its benchmark basket (Santander, ENI, E.On, Telefónica and Vodafone) are higher than their initial share price.Caja Madrid is also launching a bond pension fund, the Plan Protegido Renta 2017 Caja Madrid, which matures on 31 July 2017, which guarantees at least 115.82% of initial capital at maturity, which represents an effective rate of 2.25%.

The announcement on October 6 by Fitch to downgrade Ireland’s debt from double-A to A-plus automatically triggered a provision in Chile’s regulations that meant Ireland’s entire funds industry being placed on watch list, writes the Financial Times. It means that Chilean fund managers will have to pull out of Ireland.Chile’s Risk Classification Commission, the body regulating pension fund investments, is expected to meet on November 30. Irish officials hope they will invoke a loophole in the regulations to avoid a withdrawal.@font-face { font-family: «Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: «Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Hedgeweek reports that a study by the consulting firm Spectrem, entitled “The Usd25m Plus Investor,” finds that half of all US households with over USD25m invested in hedge funds in 2010. This represents an increase of 43% compared with the levels observed in 2007. The average portfolio for this category of the population totals USD4.6m. In other words, the financial crisis and the difficulties encountered by alternative management firms in the period do not seem to have dissuaded high net worth Americans from investing in hedge funds. These investors also increased their exposure to private equity and venture capital.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The New York Times reports that Morgan Stanley and Peter Muller, the head of its Process Driven Trading unit, specialised in quantitative management, are in advanced talks over plans to spin off the unit. The newspaper reports that Morgan Stanley may separate from the entity, and retain a minority stake, while Muller would retain access to Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure. The Process Driven Trading unit has earned about USD4bn in profits in the ten years to 2006, but since the financial crisis and the passage of the Dodd-Franck law, which limits proprietary trading activities by Wall Street firms, Morgan Stanley, like other Wall Street firms, has decided to adapt to the new environment.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Robert C. Jones, director of quantitative investment at Goldman Sachs Group, is retiring at the end of this year, according to a memo sent to directors of the asset management unit at the bank, cited by Financial News.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Californian pension fund CalPERS has announced an investment of USD500m in an internally-managed strategy which will bet on companies which are actively working to improve the environment and combat climate change. CalPERS had previously limited its investments to external managers, but “this more robust quantitative strategy will allow us to act on a larger scale and to engage ourselves more directly” with the best-performing firms in environmental terms, the chairman of the board of trustees at CalPERS, Rob Feckner, says in a statement. The team in charge of the new strategy will rely on the HSBC CCI (Global Climate Change Benchmark Index), which at the end of 2009, included 380 firms from 36 countries, with capitalisation of at least USD400m. The portfolio will include only companies which earn a large part of their revenues from the production of alternative energies.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Investors remained highly cautious in September. Long-term UCITS-compliant funds posted net inflows of EUR10bn, compared with EUR38bn in August, according to the most recent statistics from the European fund and asset management association (EFAMA). Most inflows went to bond funds, totalling a net EUR6bn, compared with EUR23bn the previous month, while diversified funds took in EUR2.3bn compared with EUR7.3bn, and equities funds saw inflows of EUR100m, compared with EUR600m in August. Net inflows to bond funds totalled EUR89.3bn in the first nine months of the year, while diversified funds took in EUR58.3bn. UCITS-compliant funds as a whole posted net outflows of EUR11bn in September, following inflows of EUR54bn in August. This evolution is largely due to net outflows of EUR21.1bn from money market funds, which attracted nearly EUR16bn the previous month. Over nine months, money market funds saw outflows of nearly EUR107bn. Non-UCITS-compliant funds, for their part, posted net inflows of EUR10.5bn, compared with EUR11.1bn in August, largely due to the stability of inflows to dedicated funds (EUR9.7bn, compared with EUR10.8bn). In the first nine months of the year, net inflows to funds as a whole (UCITS and non-UCITS) totalled EUR163.6bn, compared with EUR149bn in the corresponding period of 2009.

@font-face { font-family: «Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: «Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } @font-face { font-family: «Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: «Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: «Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Khadem al-Qubaisi, chairman of Aabar, the sovereign fund of Abu Dhabi, told the Financial Times the fund was looking at two infrastructure investments in Europe, each with a value of between EUR500m and EUR1bn. Aabar is also considering buying a “small stake” in a blue-chip telecoms company in Europe or the US.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The index provider Russell Investments and the specialist in portfolio optimisation tools Axioma are offering a new series of indices which measure the relative sensitivity of a portfolio to individual factors. The new indices, based in the Russell 1000, Russell 2000, and Russell 3000 investment universes, are Russell-Axioma Momentum Index, Russell-Axioma Leverage Index, Russell-Axioma Lquidity Index, Russell-Axioma Beta (Market Sensibility)Index, and Russell-Axioma Volatility Index.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Kairos, Fidelity, Invesco, and Amundi are some of the asset management firms preparing to hire people in Italy, Bluerating reports, citing an article in the Corriere Della Sera. In all, 250 jobs may be created in the Italian asset management industry.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } On Monday, 15 November, AXA announced that with AMP it has made a joint offer to AXA APH, by which AXA would sell its 54% stake in AXA APH to AMP, and would acquire the Asian activities of AXA APH. The independent directors of AXA APH are studying the offer, the statement notes, adding that the proposal will be subject to finalisation of due diligence by AMP and an agreement between AMP, AXA APH and AXA abou thte final legal documentation, “which the parties will work to finalise as soon as possible.” If a final agreement and a deal are announced, a “scheme of arrangement” would be set up, which would require the approval of minority shareholders in AXA APH1, and which would be subject to the usual conditions, including a requirement that the approval of the relevant Australian and Asian regulators be obtained. Under the offer, shareholders in AXA APH would receive the equivalent of AUD6.43 per share, in cash and AMP shares, as well as the final 2010 dividend from AXA APH of 9.25 Australian cents per share (pending the announcement of such a dividend by AXA APH). Minority shareholders in AXA APH would receive complete protection in case of a fall in the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) after the scheme as far as AUD4.50, with additional cash to maintain an offer equivalent to AUD6.43. Minority shareholders in AXA APH would also earn 50% of any post-scheme VWAP above AUD5.60.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Sam Morse of Fidelity will take over management of the European Values trust (GBP530m) on 1 January, replacing Sudipto Banerji, Investment Week reports. The manager has already been in charge of the Fidelity European fund (GBP3bn) since the beginning of this year.

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } According to the British Investment Management Association (IMA), net inflows to funds of funds totalled an unprecedented GBP1.5bn for the month, putting them at a record GBP5.1bn for the first nine months of the year. In parallel with this evolution, the proportion of funds of funds as a part of total assets under management now comes to 9.6%, the largest level ever observed. Since third quarter 2009, assets in funds of funds have increased 31% to GBP52bn. Meanwhile, tracker funds posted their strongest inflows since 2002 in third quarter, at GBP599m. Assets under management are up 15% year on year to GBP30.4bn. For ethical funds, net inflows totalled GBP74m in third quarter, bringing total assets under management to GBP6.1bn (+12% year on year).

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The British management firm JO Hambro Capital Management on 11 November announced its decision to provisionally close its British equities fund, the JOHCM UK Equity Income Fund, to new subscriptions, due to strong net inflows in the past few weeks. Assets in the fund totalled GBP616m as of 9 November, and due to strong daily inflows, the GBP750m limit set at the launch of the fund in late 2004 may be reached soon, JP Hambro explains in a statement. As of 31 October 2010, the fund shows returns of 9.97% over three years, 45.55% over five years, and 66.55% since its launch on 30 November 2004. As of 30 September, assets under management at JO Hambro totalled GBP5.4bn.