Si les transactions affichent des résultats honorables au premier semestre, l’heure n’est pas encore au retour des vastes mouvements

Selon DTZ, 482 milliards d’euros de prêts adossés à l’immobilier commercial devront être renégociés en Europe d’ici deux ans

Lundi, Fitch Ratings a confirmé la note M2 de gestionnaire d’actifs de Metzler Asset Management (34,7 milliards d’euros fin mars) pour ses activités de gestion institutionnelle basées à Francfort. L’agence note que cette confirmation tient compte du fait que Metzler AM a réduit ses risques d’exploitation, notamment en abandonnant son projet de développement dans la CEI, ce qui s’est traduit par le départ d’un associé ainsi que d’un directeur général. Toutefois, Metzler maintient son activité en Chine et ailleurs dans le monde, de sorte que la modification n’a qu’une incidence mineur sur le profil de la société.Après avoir observé que Metzler AM continue d'évoluer dans un environnement très concurrentiel sur son marché intérieur où les marges diminuent, Fitch rapporte aussi que le gestionnaire a progressé sur la voie d’une organisation de type «boutique» après le départ de son directeur de la gestion actions, ce qui va par définition exposer la nouvelle structure à un risque spécifique de départ de ses personnels-clé.

La BaFin a délivré son agrément à LGT Capital Management qui peut désormais entamer le commercialisation de fonds en Allemagne à partir de Francfort, où elle dispose déjà de quatre gérants, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Torsten de Santos, le directeur général de la société de gestion qui sert de family office à la famille princière du Liechtenstein, estime réaliste d’atteindre 2 milliards d’euros d’encours en Allemagne sur les cinq ans qui viennent.Contrairement à LGT Capital Partners, qui se spécialise sur les hedge funds et le private equity, LGT Capital Management (13 milliards d’euros d’encours) se concentre sur les fonds d’investissement traditionnels qui seront proposés principalement aux fonds de pension et aux assureurs en s’appuyant sur le réseau de huit agences de la LGT Bank en Allemagne.

Pour 555 millions d’euros, le suédois SEB vend à l’espagnol Santander ses 173 agences en Allemagne qui emploient 2.000 personnes et compte un million de clients. Cette transaction va plomber de 240 millions d’euros le résultat de SEB, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Le groupe suédois conserve en Allemagne l’activité de banque des entreprises, y compris le financement de l’immobilier commercial, et la gestion d’actifs.

L’agence Kommalpha a étudié pour la troisième année consécutives les statistiques de Google sur les requêtes concernant la gestion d’actifs, les fonds offerts au public, les fonds institutionnels (Spezialfonds) et les clients institutionnels. Il en ressort que, pour les trois premières catégories, les sites les plus sollicités sont souvent des portails, Wikipedia se classant en tête dans tous les compartiments.Cette prédominance est particulièrement sensible en ce qui concerne les fonds offerts au public, où le premier professionnel, Siemens Financial Services, se classe septième (il y a trois troisièmes ex-aequo) alors qu’il était huitième en 2009 et sixième en 2008.En ce qui concerne le terme générique de «gestion d’actifs», le site du groupe de distribution Metro se classe deuxième, devant l’association BVI des sociétés de gestion, Union Investment et SEB Asset Management, troisième ex-aquo, la Deutsche Bank arrivant ainsi en sixième position.Pour les Spezialfonds, les sites spécialisés Fondsvermittlung 24 et Investment Anlagen24 suivent Wikipedia, le quatrième au palmarès étant Universal-Investment en 2010, comme en 2009.En revanche, pour ce qui touche aux «investisseurs institutionnels», les sites les plus sollicités sont ceux de banques ou de gestionnaies d’actifs. La première place revient en 2010 comme en 2009 à la Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW, 2ème en 2008), devant la HSH Nordbank qui ne figurait pas parmi les 10 premières adresses en 2009 et se classait 10ème en 2008. Derrière la caisse d'épargne de Cologne/Bonn, troisième, Wikipedia, Liechtenstein Global Trust et Union Investment se classent quatrièmes ex-aequo.L’agence Kommalpha, qui propose des services spécialisés dans les domaines du marketing sur Internet, de l’optimisation de la présence sur les moteurs de recherche (search engine optimization ou SEO) et de l’optimisation du positionnement sur Internet en fonction de groupes de prospects, constate que les premières places dans les palmarès pour les moteurs de recherche ne sont pas en grande partie le résultat d’une stratégie SEO mais plutôt un effet lié en partie au hasard.Dans ces conditions, Kommalpha suggère d’améliorer les scores et les classements sur Google en choisissant un concept ainsi que des mots-clés pertinents, tout en optimisant les sites en permanence pour augmenter les visibilité sur les moteurs de recherche. Ce chantier devrait faire partie intégrante de la politique de marketing «offline», ajoute Guido Pelzer, directeur général de p3 consult et seminar leader de Google Adwords en Allemagne.

Avec le ComStage ETF HSI et le ComStage ETF HSCEI, ComStage (Commerzbank) a introduit lundi les 679ème et 680ème ETF sur le segment XTF de la plate-forme électronique Xetra (Deutsche Börse).Ces deux produits de droit luxembourgeois (LU0488316729 et LU0488316992) affichent chacun une commission de gestion de 0,55 %.Le premier réplique l’indice Hang Seng (HSI) de la Bourse de Hong-Kong tandis que le second suit le Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) qui couvre les actions des sociétés les plus importantes de Chine continentale cotées à Hong-Kong (H-shares).

On Monday, Jefferies Asset Management (JAM) announced the launch of the Commodity Strategy Allocation Fund, which will be the first open-ended mutual fund from the asset management firm, and which will invest in global commodities markets, shares in commodities businesses, and protection against inflation in the form of inflation-linked US government bonds known as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). The fund is a part of the Financial Investors Trust range from ALPS Advisors, for which JAM is acting as sub-advisor. Management is provided by Robert B. Hyman, senior vice president and portfolio manager at JAM, who joined the firm in June.

From USD1.1311trn at the end of April and EUR1.0441trn at the end of May, global assets in ETFs have fallen again to a total at the end of June of USD1.0259trn (see Newsmanagers of 14 June). Since the beginning of the year, assets under management are up 1% from their total of USD1.036trn at the end of December. However, BlackRock funds that the number of products has increased to 2,252 ETFs listed 4,637 times, from 2,218 funds listed 4,478 times as of the end of May. Since the beginning of the year, the number of ETF funds has increased 22.2%, with 327 new products launched and 25 withdrawn from trading. The market share controlled by the top three promoters as of the end of June had shrunk to 70% from 70.4% one month earlier, and 70.7% as of the end of May. iShares remains far and away the top provider, with 442 ETF funds and assets of USD469.5bn, which represents a market share of 45.8% It leads State Street global Advisors (SSgA) with 110 ETFs and USD144.3bn in assets and market share of 14.1%, and Vanguard in third place with 47 funds and USD103.4bn, a market share of 10.1%.

ComStage (Commerzbank) on Monday introduced the ComStage ETF his and the ComStage ETF HSEI, which become the 679th and 680th ETFs on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic trading platform (Deutsche Börse). The two Luxembourg-registered products (LU0488316729 and LU0488316992) each charge a management commission of 0.55%. The first of these funds replicates the Hang Seng (HSI) index of the Hong Kong stock exchange, whiel the second tracks the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI), which covers equities in the largest continental Chinese businesses listed in Hong Kong (H-shares).

The committee of European securities regulators (CESR) on 12 July launched a consultation on classification of clients. The examination of various categories of clients comes as part of an examination of the MIF directive being undertaken by the European Commission. The consultation will be open until 9 August 2010.

Since the beginning of the year, European ETF funds have seen a 3.9% decrease in their assets, to EUR218bn as of the end of June from EUR226.9bn at the end of December and EUR220.7bn at the end of May. The decline is nonetheless considerably less than the 18.2% decline in the MSCI Europe index in US dollars, BlackRock points out. In first half, the number of ETF funds increased 16.5%, with 135 new funds launched. BlackRock states that in June 2010, net subscriptions to ETF and ETP products domiciled in Europe totalled Usd2.6bn, with net redemptions of USD1.5bn from bond products, and USD1.3bn from emerging markets ETFs, but net outflows of USD1.5bn from European equities ETFs. In first half, net subscriptions to ETFs and ETPs domiciled in Europe totalled USD24.4bn, of which USD5.8bn were for bond specialist funds, USD5.7bn for commodities funds, and USD1.5bn for European equities funds. Of the 35 promoters active in Europe, the top three, iShares, Lyxor Asset Management and db x-trackers, had a market share as of the end of June of 71.3%, compared with 71.5% at the end of May. iShares remains far in the lead, with a market share of 35.7%, which corresponds to 173 ETFs with assets under management of USD77.9bn. Lyxor (Société Générale) has a market share of 19.1%, with 133 ETF funds and USD41.6bn, while db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) is in third place with a market share of 16.5%, 135 ETFs and USD35.9bn in assets.Since the beginning of the year, ETFs domiciled in Europe have posted net subscriptions of USD21.7bn, of which USD4.3bn have gone to iShares, USD3.3bn to Lyxor, and USD3.1bn to Source Markets.

On Monday, Fitch Ratings confirmed its M2 rating for the asset management firm Metzler Asset Management (EUR34.7bn as of the end of March), for its institutional management activities based in Frankfurt. The agency notes that the confirmation takes into account that Metzler AM has reduced its operating risks, particularly by abandoning its planned development in the CIS, which resulted in the departure of a partner and a CEO. However, Metzler has retained its activities in China and elsewhere, meaning that the change will have only a minor impact on the firm’s profile. After observing that Metzler AM is continuing to develop in a highly competitive environment on a domestic market where margins are shrinking, Fitch also reports that the asset management firm has moved towards a “boutique” type organisation, following the departure of its head of equities, which will by definition expose the new structure to specific risks related to the departure of key team members.

BaFin has issued a license to LGT Capital Management, which now allows for distribution of funds in Germany from Frankfurt, where the firm already has four managers, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Torsten de Santos, CEO of the management firm which serves as a family office for the royal family of Liechtenstein, estimates that it is realistic to aim for EUR2bn in assets in Germany in the next five years. Unlike LGT Capital Partners, which is specialised in hedge funds and private equity, LGT Capital Management (EUR13bn in assets) is concentrated on traditional investment funds, which will be offered largely to pension funds and employers via a network of eight LGT Bank branches in Germany.

On 21 June, Invesco Germany launched the Luxembourg-registered equities fund Invesco Emerging Market Quantitative Equity Fund. The product is based on the systematic use of fundamental concepts and behavioural finance as part of quantitative models. The management team takes into account revisions to profit outlooks, the relative strength of shares compared with their peers, the behaviour of management (equity buybacks, paying off debt, distribution of dividends), and a relative evaluation of the market behaviour of shares. The portfolio is optimised once per month. Shares are available in US dollars or Euros. In the latter category, there is a version hedged for currency risks and an unhedged version. In both cases, front-end fee, management commission and minimal initial subscription are the same, at 5.25%, 1.25%, and EUR1,500 (EUR500 for subsequent subscriptions). The depository banking commission (J.P. Morgan Bank Luxembourg S.A.) is set at 0.20%.

Morgan Stanley has confirmed, without providing further details, that Stuart Bohart and Stephen Trevor, the two co-heads of asset management activities at the group, will be leaving the company, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley since 1 January, In February appointed Gregory Fleming as head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM, USD260bn). Since then, Joanne Pace, COO of MSIM has been replaced by Edmond Moriarty. Bohart was in charge of Usd230bn in assets, as head of equities, bond and hedge fund management. He is rumoured to be in talks over a position at another asset management firm. Trevor, head of real estate and private equity, will also be leaving MSIM this summer.

In a statement dated 12 July, Federal Finance has confirmed reports from Newsmanagers (see Newsmanagers of 7 July) that the Crédit Mutuel Arkea affiliate on 9 July acquired a 34% stake in the capital of the bond management firm Schelcher Prince Gestion (EUR2bn in assets), and that it plans to obtain a majority stake in 12 months. The move will allow for a mutualisation of resources and will give the merged entity assets of EUR33bn, with the objective of attaining EUR50bn by 2015 through the “Horizons 2015” mid-term development plan. The two asset management firms, Schelcher Prince Gestion and federal Finance Gestion, which will retain their autonomy in the area of management, will benefit from the industrialisation and expertise of the support functions at Federal Finance. They share common values, “such as commitment to responsible investment and transparency in management,” a statement says. Christian Prince will remain as president and CEO of Schelcher Prince Gestion until July 2011, while Humbert de Fresnoye, deputy CEO of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Christian Cadiou, chairman of the supervisory board at Federal Finance, and Frédéric Laurent, chairman of the board at Federal Finance, will take seats on the board of directors at Schelcher Prince Gestion.

The fund of hedge fund activities of Lombard Odier, based in Geneva (about USD1.1bn in assets), which have been moved to the Systemic and Alternative Portfolio Construction division of the new Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM), will retain their asset manager rating of M3, issued by Fitch Ratings in May 2009, in a downgrade from the previous rating of M2- due to the impact of the global financial crisis. The ratings agency estimates that the Systemic and Alternative Portfolio Construction division of LOIM needs to demonstrate that its new business model and investment approach are viable in the long term, and can create new growth opportunities while maintaining the necessary stability in staff and processes.

Prime Fund Solutions (PFS), the former Fortis division in the course of being acquired by Credit Suisse, has announced plans to launch an integrated front, middle and back office service aimed at fund of hedge fund managers. The platform, entitled PFS Horizon, will allow funds of hedge funds to manage the entire investment process through a single interface.

Hedge Week reports that Gartmore appears to have regained the confidence of investors, following the suspension of Guillaume Rambourg in March (see Newsmanagers of 31 March 2010), which triggered redemption demands totalling nearly GBP1bn. The head of international alternative management, Paul Graham, has told Reuters that his UCITS III-compliant fund, managed by Roger Guy, is now showing net inflows.

Société Générale announced on 12 July that it has appointed Gonzague de Cerval as head of its branch office in Abu Dhabi, founded in 2008. De Cerval will promote the activities of Société Générale Private Banking, and will report to Eddy Abramo, CEO of Société Générale Private Banking Middle East in Dubai. “This appointment is a sign of Société Générale’s ongoing engagement with the Middle East and its strong ambitions to grow its wealth management activities in the region,” a statement from the group says. Société Générale Private Banking has also been present in Dubai since 2006, and in Bahrain since late 2009.

The client portfolios of Lombard Odier España were successfully transferred on 31 May to BNP Paribas Securities Services, which has been selected as the provider of local liquidation and custody services, Funds People reports. For the past two years, BNP Paribas has already been the depository and administrator of Sicavs from Lombard Odier Spain.

The US management firm Legg Mason has announced that its CFO, C.J. Daley, is leaving his job to join an independent management firm. Terence Murphy, chief operating officer at Clearbridge Advisors, an affiliate of Legg Mason, will take up the position in the interim. Murphy served as chief financial officer at Citigroup Asset Management before the acquisition of that activity by Legg Mason in 2005.

The former head of emerging markets at Axa Framlington, William Calvert, will be joining Polar Capital this autumn, probably in October. Two of his analysts at Axa Framlington, Ming Kemp and Neil Denman, will come with him. Polar will probably launch a product managed by Calvert and his team.

Assets under management at Charlemagne Capital at the end of the six months to the end of June totalled USD2.8bn, up 16% compared with June 2009, but down 9.5% compared with 1 January 2010. Net management commissions were up 24% compared with June 2009, and up 1% compared with the previous half.

Baring Asset Management on Monday confirmed that Henry Chan, head of Asia Pacific Investment, will be leaving the business. The British asset management firm is now seeking a candidate for the newly-created position of CIO of Baring Asset Management Asia. In the meanwhile, the managing directors of the Asian affiliate will report directly to Tim Scholefield, head of global equities. The objective of the new recruitment will be to take the Asian equities division to a higher level, and to make the necessary performance improvements to several Asian mandates. Recently (see Newsmanagers of 15 February, 2010), Barings recruited Colin Ng as head of Asia Equities and Adrian Au as head of Asian alternatives. Currently, the British asset management firm is also seeking a manager of Chinese equities, an analyst for Taiwan equities, and personnel for quantitative support.

In first quarter 2011, Mark Burgess, managing director and head of equities at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), will join Threadneedle, where he will gradually take over the role of chief investment officer (CIO) which Sarah Arkle will be leaving next year in order to retire and become vice chairman of the management firm.

On 1 July, Fidelity International created a share class in the Fidelity Emerging Market Debt Fund hedged for currency risks, Fidelity Emerging Market Fund A-ACC-Euro (hedged) (LU0337572712), a sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav managed by John Carlson (see Newsmanagers of 25 February). The creation of the share class comes in response to demand from clients seeking exposure to emerging markets without currency risks.

Five more managers last month decided to join the Luxembourg Alternatives UCITS Platform (LAUP), LFG has announced. “The single solution from LFG is increasingly known among hedge fund managers and investors for its top quality and robustness. It is increasingly known for high liquidity strategies, as UCITS-compliant funds are increasingly used by managers, and as it becomes increasingly important to find adequate long term solutions. LAUP will have 10 top quality management firms by the end of the year, which will allow us to offer our clients internationally renowned products,” a statement from Gareth James, head of Hedge Fund Solutions at LFG, states.

Five more managers last month decided to join the Luxembourg Alternatives UCITS Platform (LAUP), LFG has announced. “The single solution from LFG is increasingly known among hedge fund managers and investors for its top quality and robustness. It is increasingly known for high liquidity strategies, as UCITS-compliant funds are increasingly used by managers, and as it becomes increasingly important to find adequate long term solutions. LAUP will have 10 top quality management firms by the end of the year, which will allow us to offer our clients internationally renowned products,” a statement from Gareth James, head of Hedge Fund Solutions at LFG, states.