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12/07/2010

Net inflow of over EUR600m for Muzinich in first half

The independent management firm Muzinich, a specialist in high yield corporate debt, registered net inflows in first half of EUR610m, of which EUR445m were for its four products Europeyield, Enhancedyield Americayield, and Transatlanticyield, sub-funds of the UCITS III-compliant Sicav Muzinich Funds, registered in several European countries including France. The French-speaking European region took on EUR110m in et subscriptions in the period. Total assets at Muzinich & Co. totalled EUR5.3bn as of the end of June 2010, compared with EUR4.4bn as of the end of December 2009, of which EUR1.4bn were managed in the Muzinich Funds Sicav. Assets in French-speaking Europe totalled EUR450m, of which more than half were managed for French clients.
12/07/2010

Internal competition at Allianz group

With the launch of the Pimco EqS Pathfinder Plus equities fund, Pimco, an affiliate of Allianz Global Investors (AGI) specialised in bonds, is ging after the prize market of RCM, the equities management specialist of the same AGI group. According to a spokesperson from the management firm cited by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the move is due to the fact that Pimco has invested largely in research into corporate bonds, and is now seeking to monetize those financial efforts. It is perhaps too easy to suppose that AGI is pursuing a strategy of independent «boutiques», as Pimco has USD1.1trn in assets, and AGI aside from Pimco has EUR520bn. Asset management professionals are offering a wide variety of conjectures about the move. In the American press, rumours are recurring that Pimco wants to leave Allianz, or that Bill Gross, the star manager at the firm, is planning to go solo. The fact that Pimco is now moving into the equities funds market is perhaps not by itself sufficient grounds to conclude that the speculations have some basis in fact.
12/07/2010

Subscription avalanche for money market funds

EPFR Global reports that money market funds worldwide last week saw their major net subscriptions in 18 months, totalling USD33.5bn, the Financial Times reports. Some of the largest fund management firms in the world are now holding as much as 40% of their portfolios in cash (or shares in money market funds), compared with 5% before the crisis. This suggests that they are seeing a potential for more falls on the stock markets in an environment in which default risks are mounting for the weakest economies in the Euro zone, Chinese growth is slowing, and doubts are emerging as to the strength of the recovery in the US economy, all considered potential threats to the global economy. Investors are also betting on gold and precious metals, which has led to net subscriptions of USD419m for commodities funds, which have taken on more than USD11bn since the beginning of the year.
12/07/2010

Asset managers express cautious optimism

According to a survey of 102 fund, hedge fund and private equity fund managers, undertaken between 28 April and 25 May by RBC Capital Partners, professionals are optimistic about outlooks for the next 12 months in US (66%) and Asian (69%) equities markets, but 40% of respondents expect European markets to fall, the Wall Street Journal reports. In general, specialists are predicting a slower economic recovery than in the years from 2003-2007.
12/07/2010

Mike Latham promoted to global head of iShares

BlackRock has announced that Mike Latham, head of North American activities at iShares, has been promoted to become head of global ETF promoter activities, following the departure of Rory Tobin, formerly of BGI, who was head of iShares outside North America, the Wall Street Journal reports. At the same time, Joe Linhares, head of US Sales, will become head of iShares for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
12/07/2010

Hedge funds bet on gold

Recently, Paulson & Co has announced that one third of its USD33bn in global assets have been invested an asset class which has been boosted by significant positions on the gold market. The Financial Times reports that gold is the largest single position for Paulson & Co, and that its USD3.4bn stake in the SPDR Gold Trust has investments representing more sheer tonnage of gold than Australia’s national reserves. Other hedge fund managers also have large positions on physical gold, or on physical gold-backed ETFs, including Soros Fund Management, Tudor Investment, Greenlight Capital, and Third Point. However, the Paulson fund dedicated to gold, which has a capacity of USD5bn, has so far raised only USD500m.
12/07/2010

SRI fund excludes “too big to fail” banks

The US value management firm Pekin Singer Strauss, based in Chicago, on Thursday evening announced that the prospectus for its SRI equities fund Appleseed (USD133m) has been modified with effect from 1 July to forbid the manager from including banks in the “too big to fail” size class in the investment portfolio after filtering for sustainable and undervalued equities. Pekin Singer Strauss says the fund is the first to explicitly exclude shares of this type as part of its selection process.
12/07/2010

CalSTRS commits to sustainable development

Responsible Investor reports that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is planning to explore new territory in shareholder engagement, water, mining technologies, and agriculture. The fund is also hoping to find new data providers who may be able to offer pertinent information in relation to sustainable development issues. CalSTRS, with assets under management of about USD132bn, has a corporate governance portfolio of USD3bn, composed 87% of US equities, and 13% of international equities. CalSTRS also works to integrate the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) into its private equity activities.
12/07/2010

UFG-LFP buys a stake in Hong Kong asset management firm

In line with its strategy of acquiring minority stakes in asset management firms created by entrepreneurs hoping to develop new ideas (in terms of products, approaches, or management), UFG-LFP announced on Friday, 9 July that it has acquired a 20% stake in JK Capital Management, a management firm based in Hong Kong. The firm, controlled by Randolph Kwei and Fabrice Jacob, was born of the merger of their two separate firms three years ago. The two heads manage equities funds (Asia and China), a statement from the management firm says. The acquisition of the minority stake is still pending the approval of the supervisory bodies of JK Capital Management and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
12/07/2010

Fitch confirms M2- rating for Sycomore AM

The ratings agency Fitch Ratings on 9 July confirmed its Asset Manager rating of M2- for Sycomore Asset Management. The rating covers all asset management activities based in Paris. The rating reflects the experience and stability of teams, the discipline of a proven management process, founded on stock-picking on the basis of fundamental criteria, and the continuing improvement of long/short strategies. The rating also takes into account the robustness of the risk control staff, particularly in terms of investment risks, and the solidity of the IT platform, which provides effective support to management teams and operations for the volumes and asset classes now traded. The rating also takes into account the entrepreneurial nature of the firm, and its specialisation in Euro zone equities. “The major challenge for the firm remains the continued development of high yield and multi-asset class management, while strengthening top down (macroeconomic and allocation) management,” the ratings agency says.
12/07/2010

Morningstar launches a monthly report on Spanish fund sector

Morningstar Spain is launching a monthly study of subscription and redemption flows in the Spanish fund sector on its website morningstar.es. The document will break down flows by category, by management firm, and by fund. In addition, Javier Sáenz de Cenzano, director of fund analysis at Morningstar, will provide a monthly commentary on the statistics.
12/07/2010

Banks have lost 15% of their investment fund market share in 10 years

Between 2000 and 2010, the market share controlled by banks in the Spanish investment fund market has fallen to 55% from 65%, while Spanish savings banks have grown to 33% from 25%, and independent management boutiques are up to 10.3% from 8.9%, Funds People reports. In first half 2010, the trend has continued, with the market share for banks down to 55.9% in June, from 57.8% in December 2009. In the same period, savings banks and independent asset management boutiques each gained a percentage point in market share.
12/07/2010

Popular offers a mixed deposit/guaranteed fund product

Banco Popular is now offering the Combinado Economías Emergentes, with a minimal subscription of EUR1,000, half of which will be placed in a 12-month deposit (maturiing on 7 September 2011), with returns of 5%, and the remainder invested in the guaranteed fund Eurovalor Garantizado Emergentes (31 October 2014), which will mature on 13 February 2014, returning the entire initial subscription plus the sum of variations in the S&P BRIC 40, with a monthly limit of 1.10% gains and 2% losses. The maximal returns for the fund will thus be 45.10% (11.42% per year), with minimal performance of 0%. The product is aimed at clients seeking extra returns with no risk.
12/07/2010

Hedge funds suffer due to volatility

The hedge funds Paulson Advantage and Paulson Credit Opportunities were not the only ones to see losses in May and June, the Financial Times reports. The Eminence Fund (USD3bn) lost 2.5% in June, bringing its losses to 11.66% for first half. Moore Capital, managed by Louis Bacon, one of the largest macro hedge funds, lost 6.9% in January-June, while the BVI Global fund from Paul Tudor Jones (USD8bn) lost 1.16%.
12/07/2010

Russell launches a commodities mutual fund

Russell on 8 July announced the launch of a mutual fund which will be the first American multi-management fund in this category with a specific mandate for commodities. Russell has handed out two custom mandates to major managers with a profound knowledge of the commodities market, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Russell already offers commodities strategies to its international clients and to US charities, but has not yet developed a similar product for general US clients.
12/07/2010

Strong net subscriptions for equities funds in June

After net redemptions of SEK1.3bn in May, Swedish funds in June posted net subscriptions of SEK6.4bn, bringing net inflows since the beginning of the year to SEK42.8bn, compared with SEK36.3bn at the end of May. June’s results got a boost from equities functions, which saw net inflows of SEK9.5bn, bringing the total for first half into positive territory, at SEK4.5bn. Diversified funds, which attracted SEK3.2bn in June, have posted net subscriptions of SEK23.1bn in the first six months of the year, compared with SEK16.6bn for bond funds, which have seen net redemptions of SEK1.3bn in June. The heaviest net outflows in June were for money market funds, with SEK4.3bn, which has reduced net subscriptions in this category to SEK2.8bn since the beginning of the year. The Swedish fund association, Fondbolagen Förening, says that assets as of the end of June totalled SEK1.764trn, down from SEK1.777trn at the end of May.
12/07/2010

Berenberg posts more inflows in first half of 2010 than in all of 2009

In January-June, the Berenberg private bank has posted a 13.4% increase to its net profits, to EUR32.9bn, following a record fiscal year in 2009 in which net profits rose 38% to EUR65.1m. Assets under management have increased by 8.7%, or EUR1.9bn, to a total of EUR23.8bn as of 30 June. Growth in first half is thus larger than the EUR1.6bn in all of last year.
12/07/2010

Austrian firm Superfund closes its Singapore office

The Austrian management firm Superfund has announced that it is closing its Singapore office, Hedge Week reports. Superfund is planning to concentrate its activities in Hong Kong. However, the firm has opened a branch office in Mumbai to explore the possibilities of development in India.
12/07/2010

HSBC creates a new position in Hong Kong

Asian Investor reports that the former Merrill Lynch prime broker Melvyn Ford has joined HSBC in Hong Kong as managing director of the financial institutions group, international banking, a newly-created position. Ford will be in charge of hedge funds in the Asia-Pacific region, and will report to Andrew Roberts, global head of hedge fund clients in London.
12/07/2010

UBS AM Spain placed under the authority of CCR Paris office

Funds People reports that the activities of UBS Asset Management in Spain, which are led by Juan Infante, will now be under the responsibility of Lorenzo Ballester-Barral, who has recently been appointed CEO of CCR Asset Management in France. Ballester-Barral revolutionized the Spanish asset management world with the creation of the Superselección fund at Santander Asset Management in 2003.
12/07/2010

Aberdeen redeploys Bramdean Alternatives as private equity fund

The investment trust Bramdean Alternatives has been reconditioned by Aberdeen Asset Management, in a transformation of the hedge fund battered by the Madoff scandal into a private equity fund, Fund Strategy reports. Hedge fund assets will now be reduced to zero; Aberdeen has invested 51.7% of assets in private equity, and 42.5% in cash. The fund has now been renamed as Aberdeen Private Equity.
09/07/2010
Fonds

Les hedge funds ont souffert en juin, mais moins que les marchés

Selon Hennessee Group, les hedge funds ont perdu en moyenne 1,35 % en juin tandis que d’après Hedge Fund Research, ils ont cédé 0,81 %. Pour le premier semestre, le Hennessee est légèrement positif et le HFR légèrement dans le rouge alors que le S&P 500 a perdu 5 % en juin et 6,7 % pour les six premiers mois de l’année, note The Wall Street Journal.Le Paulson Advantage et le Paulson Advantage plus ont perdu respectivement 4,4 % eè près de 7 % en juin, avec des chutes de 5,8 % et 8,7 % depuis le début de l’année, alors que le fonds or de Paulson gagne 7,3 % pour juin et 12,5 % pour le premier semestre.Quant au Clarium de Peter Thiel, il a chuté de 7,7 % sur le mois et de 13,8 % pour janvier-juin .
Fonds

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