La boutique d’investissement américaine Aladdin Capital vient de recruter Keith Innes au poste nouvellement créé de responsable mondial des ventes. Keith Aladdin, qui supervisera l’ensemble du réseau de distribution d’Aladdin, sera membre du comité exécutif.Keith Innes travaillait précédemment chez Forum Partners où il était responsable des ventes et du marketing.

Avec le Threadneedle Enhanced Commodities fund (TECF), le gestionnaire britannique vient de lancer un nouveau compartiment de sa sicav luxembourgeoise dont l’indice de référence est le Dow Jones UBS Commodities. C’est une version coordonnée du hedge fund Commodities Crescendo (lancé en 2008) qui ne peut ni utiliser l’effet de levier ni vendre à découvert. Il est géré de manière active par Nicholas Robin et Daniel Belchers sous la responsabilité de David Donora. L’objectif de surperformance est de 6 % par an, net de frais, avec un écart de suivi inférieur ou égal à 6 %.Le fonds est investi initialement à près d’un tiers dans des actions de sociétés du secteur de l'énergie (dont 14,3 % pour le pétrole) et à moins de 20 % chacun pour les métaux industriels et les métaux précieux, l’allocation aux céréales étant d’environ 10 %.

Selon Les Echos, l’arrivée d’Aabar Investments au capital d’UniCredit cause de sérieux remous en Italie. La semaine dernière, le fonds d’Abu Dhabi, lui-même détenu par le fonds souverain International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic), a annoncé avoir acquis 4,99% de la première banque transalpine, pour un peu plus de 1,8 milliard d’euros. Il est désormais le deuxième actionnaire du groupe dirigé par Alessandro Profumo, juste derrière Mediobanca. Mais la banque d’affaires milanaise ne jouissant d’aucun droit de vote, Aabar Investments est d’ores et déjà considéré comme le plus puissant au tour de table, à égalité avec la Banque centrale de Libye.

Altarea Cogedim a annoncé le 30 juin avoir signé le même jour l’acte de vente au fonds immobilier ouvert allemand Deka-ImmobilienEuropa du 39-41 avenue de Wagram, comprenant l’hôtel Marriott Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe 5 étoiles de 118 chambres et suites, la Salle Wagram entièrement restaurée, 3 magasins dédiés à la décoration de la maison, pour un montant de 113,8 millions d’euros. Le prix moyen unitaire de vente par chambre est de 620 000 euros.L’exploitation de l’hôtel continuera d’être assurée par Marriott. Quant à la salle Wagram, Eurosites en assurera la gestion et l’exploitation.Les actifs du fonds ouvert allemand s’inscrivaient à 10,83 milliards d’euros au 31 mai dernier.

L’Agefi rapporte que la commission de surveillance de la Caisse des Dépôts a indiqué qu’un nouveau cadre de gestion pour les fonds d'épargne devrait être signé dans les prochaines semaines. Les emplois seront fixés par le ministère de l’Economie et des Finances mais la direction des fonds d'épargne de la Caisse conservera toute latitude pour la gestion au quotidien. En ce qui concerne le montant prélevé par l’Etat en 2010, pour l’exercice 2009, le quotidien précise qu’il a atteint 1,815 milliard d’euros, dont 742 millions au titre des résultats des fonds d'épargne.

Le FSI vient d’annoncer qu’il accueillerait, à la rentrée de septembre, Yves Barou, comme Conseiller Social. Yves Barou s’attachera, auprès du directeur général, à la définition et à la mise en oeuvre de la doctrine d’investisseur socialement responsable du FSI. Il était depuis février 2000 directeur des ressources humaines du groupe Thales (ex Thomson CSF). A ce titre, il vient de signer deux accords européens particulièrement innovants avec la FEM (Fédération Européenne de la Métallurgie) Il avait auparavant été directeur adjoint du cabinet de la ministre de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité, chargé du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Formation, après avoir occupé différentes fonctions de Ressources Humaines et de management au sein du groupe Rhône Poulenc, en France et aux Etats-Unis .Il vient de créer le Cercle des DRH Européens.

A l’occasion du cinquième anniversaire de ce fonds, Marc Girault, directeur de la gestion de HMG Finance, a indiqué que le HMG Globetrotter a atteint les 85 millions d’euros d’encours au 29 juin contre 73,5 millions au 31 mai, compte tenu d’une performance de 4,1 % contre 0,1 % pour l’indice de référence, le MSCI World. Le fonds est investi dans des filiales de sociétés européennes dans les pays émergents ou dans des sociétés européennes dont l’essentiel de l’activité s’effectue dans les pays émergents (lire notre article du 21 juin).Par ailleurs, les responsables de HMG Finance ont indiqué s'être après dotés d’outils analytiques propres à chacun des fonds de la gamme, ce qui permettra entre autres de mieux servir les investisseurs institutionnels en leur fournissant une attribution de performance assez détaillées.Enfin, HMG Finance, qui vient d’internaliser sa commercialisation, entend se développer sur les créneaux des conseillers en gestion de patrimoine, des banques privées. La société de gestion réfléchit aussi à un éventuel développement à l’international, sans que cela ait pour l’instant débouché sur des projets concrets.

Peter Ferket, qui est gérant de fonds chez Rolinco et co-head de l'équipe actions quantitative de Robeco prend au 1er juillet la direction de la branche investment products au sein de la division investissements. Il partage cette direction avec Edith Siermann et remplace Mark van der Kroft, qui rejoint au 1er septembre l'équipe des ventes institutionnelles aux Pays-Bas d’Eric van der Maarel.

La BCE leur a prêté hier 131,9 milliards d'euros à 1 % sur 3 mois, moins qu'attendu

La BCE leur a prêté hier 131,9 milliards d'euros à 1 % sur 3 mois, moins qu'attendu

La BCE vient de publier ses recommandations visant à «renforcer la gouvernance économique de la zone euro». La Banque centrale européenne se lance donc dans la politique; la nouvelle est de taille, mais elle ne doit pas surprendre.

L’association allemande de la gestion d’actifs (BVI) compte un nouveau membre, Invesco Asset Management Deutschland GmbH. Les encours d’Invesco AM Deutschland s'élevaient à 6,9 milliards d’euros à fin mars 2010.Avec ce nouveau membre, la BVI compte désormais soixante-cinq sociétés d’investissement, quatorze asset managers et six holdings dont les actifs sous gestion totalisent quelque 1.800 milliards d’euros.

Invesco Asset Management announced on Tuesday, 29 June that it is simplifying its range of European equities funds, with the merger of the Invesco Actions Europe, a fund which invests in pan-European equities, and the Invesco Euro Equity, a Euro zone equities fund. The former fund will aborb the latter, and will assume a new name, Invesco Actions Euro. The new Sicav, which will invest in Euro zone equities, will not change management styles, says a statement from the management firm, and the two Sicavs are managed by Jeffrey Taylor, head of the active European equities management team. The merger takes place on 1 July 2010. Characteristics ISIN codes: FR0010145193 (A share class)/FR0010145201 (C share class)/ FR0010135871 (E share class)Maximal subscription fees: 4.5% Annual management fees: (A) 1.55%; (C) 0.95%; (E) 2.40%Minimal investment: (A) EUR1,500; (C) EUR250,000; (E) EUR500Benchmark index: MSCI EMU with net dividends reinvested

Aviva announced on Tuesday, 29 June that it has appointed Robert Lough as director of strategy and development at Aviva Europe, from 1 July 2010. Lough will also join the executive board, under the leadership of Andrea Moneta, chairman of Aviva EMEA. Lough will also be in charge of strategy, development, and teams dedicated to mergers and acquisitions within Aviva’s European activities, according to a statement from the firm, which adds that the firm has significant franchises in the region, with growth markets such as Poland, Turkey and Russia. Lough was previously at Pioneer Global Asset Management, the asset management activity of the UniCredit group, where he was CFO and head of strategy.

The index provider FTSE has announced the launch of a line of carbon emission indexes, the FTSE CDP Carbon Strategy Index Series, established jointly by the Carbon Disclosure Project, which represents over 500 institutional investors worldwide, and ENDS Carbon, the provider of ratings and performance indices of carbon emissions. Initially, FTSE will offer two UK indices, the FTSE CDP Carbon Strategy All-Share Index, and the FTSE CDP Carbon Strategy 350 Index. “The two indexes were designed to respond to rising awareness of the potential impact of climate change on the profitability of investments,” the index provider says in a statement. On the basis of the FTSE All-Share Index, the Unilever group places top for carbon emissions, followed by BY Group, Morrison Supermarkets, and Rolls-Royce.

Goldman Sachs International (GSI), facing growing demand for hedge funds which provide independent custody of assets, has turned to BNY Mellon to provide sub-custodian services for prime broker clients of GSI.

According to a study published on 29 June by Lipper FMI (“Zen and the Art of Mutual Fund Maintenance,”) management firms would do well to think twice before launching new products. In ten of the most popular sectors in 2009, only one fund on average attracts more than one third of net inflows. The study points to the “phenomenal success” of Carmignac Patrimoine, which has attracted 98% of net inflows to diversified funds. In other words, distributors are still, it seems, subject to strongly gregarious instincts, which should lead management firms to be more prudent about launches of new products. The study also finds that performance does not necessarily influence inflows. In the first year of existence for a fund, certainly, and then in 85% of the periods considered, funds in the top quartile saw the strongest net inflows. But this percentage falls to 75% if the track record covers three years, and to only 33% after five years. Another lesson of the Lipper FMI study is that competition has not necessarily favoured a fall in commissions, particularly as the asset management sector is a market which is mediated, either by independent financial advisers (IFAs) in the UK, private banks in Switzerland, or retail banks in Germany or Spain, while the vast majority of retail investors do not invest directly through management firms themselves. According to the Lipper data, management fees for retail share classes most recently totalled 1.58%, compared with 1.38% at the end of 1999. But for institutionals, management fees most recently totalled 0.85%, compared with 0.99% at the end of 1999. According to Ed Moisson, the author of the study, “the way in which funds are distributed in Europe has played an important role in the development of the commission levels practised for retail investors. The evolution of the active/passive product mix for fund ranges, the rise of UCITS III funds, and new opportunities with UCITS IV, all suggest a rising volume in the debate over management fees. But a seismic shock will be needed to change the asset manager/distributor dynamic.”

Charlemagne Capital has announced the launch of a dividend fund focused on emerging markets, the Magna Emerging Markets Dividend Fund. A few days ago, Charlemagne also launched the Magna Undervalued Assets Fund. The new UCITS III-format fund, domiciled in Ireland, will invest in 30 to 40 firms in emerging markets which pay high dividends and which are showing rapid growth in profits. The performance objective is 6%.

The British Conservative party on 29 June created a working group to consider the creation of a green investment bank, which would be the first of its type in the UK. The idea of a green investment bank was put forward in the public report released the same day by a government commission (the Green Investment Bank Commission), which finds that the investments necessary to confront climate change in the UK will total as much as GBP550bn by 2020. The report suggests that the bank could issue green bonds, which could be attractive to pension funds, which for several years have been reducing their equities allocations in favour of bonds.

On Tuesday night, JP Morgan confirmed that Richard Berliand will be retiring after 23 years at the firm, and that he will be leaving his role as global head of prime services. He will be replaced by Sandie O’Connor, global head of financing and market products. She will particularly aim to develop prime brokerage activities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and will retain responsibility for the prime custody solutions group.

According to State Street Global markets, the global investor confidence index increased 1.3 points in June, to 89.7, compared with a corrected level of 88.4 in May. The year’s highest score so far was recorded in March, at 107.4. The confidence of institutional investors continued to fall in North America, where it is down 6.3 points, putting the regional index at 92.2. However, the regional indices for Europe and Asia are up, by 5.4 points to 97.7, and 1.7 points to 102.6, respectively. According to Harvard professor Ken Froot, one of the architects of the index, North American institutional investors remained nervous through the month of June, and their appetite for risk fell back to levels seen in spring 2009.

The Investeam third party marketer (TPM) now intermediates EUR450m in assets for 61 distributor clients and 15 products from five management firms, Frédéric Smith and Didier Jug, partners at the French firm, have told Newsmanagers. Investeam is seeking to add to its product range, and is still missing an Asian or Japanese emerging markets fund, and/or an African and/or North African fund. The Canadian sister company intermediates about CAD400m, and Jug tells Newsmanagers that talks are underway to open offices in Spain, Germany, Singapore and Brazil. The most recent addition to the range is an equities fund of shares in gold producers, a Canadian product managed as a sub-fund of a Luxembourg Sicav, by Robert E. Cohen of Goodman & Company (Dundee Wealth group). The sub-fund, Dynamic Precious Metals Fund (LU0357130771), currently has only EUR32m in assets, as Dundee Wealth (CAD38.1bn in assets under management, and CAD25.2bn in assets under administration) has not seen fit to provide seed capital for a product which already works very well in Canada and the United States. The European product as of 31 May showed returns of 121.27% since 6 May 2008, while the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index in Euros gained only 43.24%. In the first five months of the year, the fund has earned returns of 33.24%, compared with 26.65% for the benchmark index.

On 17 June, Santander Asset Management launched the Santander 100 por 100 7 fund (ES0174942005), a guaranteed fund which will mature on 2 February 2015, and which was registered by the CNMV on 24 June. The amount of the investment on 9 August 2010 will be reimbursed at its value on 9 August 2010, plus four quarterly reimbursements of at least EUR60 each, from 10 November 2010, and a final reimbursement of EUR28.48 on 30 January 2015, on an investment of EUR6,000, for example, which represents an overall rate of return of 2.4875%. Until 9 August 2010, the fund will invest 75% of its assets in public repos rated at least A by S&P, while the remainder will be placed in public repos or corporate bonds rated at least A. The average duration to maturity for assets in the portfolio will be under 3 months, and all issuers will belong to the EU. From 10 August, the portfolio will be composed of liquid government bonds, but will also be permitted to invest up to 20% in corporate bonds. Minimal subscription is set at one share, and management commission will be 0.3% until 9 August, then 0.9% thereafter. The depository banking commission is 0.1%

According to data provided by the Spanish Inverco association of management firms, the number of subscribers to funds distributed in Spain reached a record high of more than 8.8 million at the end of 2006. Since then, the crisis has brought this number down to a total of 5.6 million as of the end of May, a contraction of 31%, Funds People reports. However, the number of subscribers has risen 0.14% since the beginning of the year. In the past two years, the number of subscribers per fund has fallen to 2,249 in May 2010, compared with 3,270 at the end of 2005.

Invesco on 24 June registered its Luxembourg Sicav Invesco Funds II with the CNMV, including eleven sub-funds. The Sicav is the receptacle for Morgan Stanley retail funds.

As of 24 June, according to statistics by VDOS reported by Expansión, assets in Spanish funds totalled EUR156.296bn, 2.05%, or EUR3.267bn less than at the end of May. In another article, the newspaper notes that assets under management in funds have fallen by more than EUR100bn since July 2007. Net redemptions from 1 to 24 June are estimated to have totalled EUR3.4bn, which would be the heaviest outflow since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The two asset management firms most affected by the drop in assets this year are Santander and BBVA, which have seen respective net outflows since the beginning of the crisis of EUR34.26bn and EUR14.84bn. However, Invercaixa (La Caixa) has posted net subscriptions of EUR1.6bn in 2009, and EUR238m since the beginning of this year, particularly due to its most recent fund, Foncaixa Bienvenida, which captured more than EUR600m in June.

Russell Investments reports that the coverage rates for US pension funds will fall by about 10% in 2011. In other words, says Russell, many pension funds may be “at risk,” and may therefore be required to make significant increases to contributions, and/or significantly lower benefits.

According to a FundQuest study of 31,991 US mutual funds with more than USD7trn in assets over the period from January 1980 to February 2010, active managers outperformed the markets in several market configurations, and particularly in 66% of rising markets, the Financial Times reports. This outperformance is counted after adjustment for risk and commissions. However, active management underperformed falling markets 68% of the time.

La Tribune reports that in a letter from the liquidators of the Luxinvest Sicav, which collapsed in the Madoff scandal, to all shareholders in the fund, the liquidators say it is possible that the recuperation rate for shareholders will be zero, at the most unfavourable extreme.

Fund Strategy reports that the board of the fund of hedge funds F&C Balanced Alpha has decided to withdraw the fund from trading on the Irish Stock Exchange. The fund will be officially removed from trading on 30 June. Another fund will also be removed from trading, the F&C UK Select investment trust.