Funds People rapporte que le BBVA a indiqué aux quelque 3.000 souscripteurs particuliers qui ont conservé leurs parts du fonds immobilier Propriedad qu’il étudie la possibilité de scinder le fonds en deux, avec un produit pour les particuliers et un autre pour la banque, qui détient 96,69 % de l’encours. En tous cas, la banque confirme qu’elle ouvre exceptionnellement les remboursements jusqu’au 30 avril. Mais le prix auquel seront remboursées les parts n’est pas encore connu.

Six des dix fonds commercialisés en Espagne affichant les meilleures performances depuis le début de cette année sont des produits investissant dans des entreprises de biotechnologie. Celui de Dexia affiche un gain de 37 %, devant ceux de DWS (26 %) et d’UBS (25 %), rapporte Cinco Días. Cependant, les sociétés de gestion soulignent que la volatilité de ces fonds peut s’avérer plus élevée que la moyenne des fonds d’actions.

Franklin Templeton a annoncé que la plate-forme de fonds Metzler Fund Xchange déréférence unilatéralement le Templeton Growth Fund à compter du 30 juin, rapporte Das Investment, précisant que la société de gestion s’estime mise devant le fait accompli. Cette mesure ne concerne que les actifs du fonds directement conservés par l’intermédiaire de la plate-forme Metzler.Dans un courrier aux intermédiaires, Franklin Templeton précise qu’elle continue de fournir un service gratuit de dépôt pour les clients du Templeton Growth Fund ainsi que pour les fonds Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF). Elle ajoute qu’il n’est absolument pas prévu de faire «désenregistrer» le Templeton Growth Fund en Allemagne.

Man Group, the London-based hedge fund, has approached several US hedge fund managers with an eye to expanding its operations in the country. The aim is to sound out hedge funds for possible distribution agreements or takeovers. Among those Peter Clarke, chief executive of Man Group, has met are SAC Capital Advisors and Millennium Partners.

On Thursday, Liontrust Asset Management announced that it had assets as of 24 March of GBP1.16bn, of which GBP312m were for institutional clients, GBP781m in retail funds, and GBP67m in offshore funds. As of 1 January, assets under management totalled GBP1.18bn, of which GBP316m were for institutional clients, GBP795m in retail funds, and GBP69m in offshore funds. In the period from 1 January to 24 March, the UK asset management firm had net outflows of GBP53m, but market effects were positive to the tune of GBP33m.

Les membres de l’eurozone s’entendent sur un mécanisme sans « aucun élément de subvention »

The asset management group UFG-LFP and Siparex, a French independent specialist in capital investment in small businesses, announced on Wednesday, 24 March that they have entered exclusive negotiations over an operational integration of UFG Private Equity into the Siparex group. The firm, whose activities are dedicated to capital investment, has assets under management of EUR320m, which are largely in proximity investment funds (FIP) or innovation common investment funds (FCPI), according to a statement from the establishment. The firm’s investment portfolio, which includes 30 mid-sized companies in a variety of sectors, would put the Siparex group over EUR1bn in assets under management, and would bring expansion to its “technology small businesses” and “proximity capital” units, a statement from the firm says.

A general meeting of the Portuguese association of investment funds, pension funds and wealth management (APFIPP) has elected José Veiga Sarmento, executive director and head of asset management at Grupo BPI, as its new president for 2010-2011. Sarmiento replaces Fernando Coelho (ESAF), who will remain a member of the board of directors. The APFIPP includes 41 asset management firms with assets of EUR106bn.

La Tribune reports that the US investment fund KKR has announced a sale of 4.4% of its stake in Legrand. Wendel, a co-shareholder in the firm, did not wish to participate in the operation, the newspaper adds.

The financial services provider BNY Mellon has been selected by the financial services group (including brokerage and asset management) Renta 4 Servicios de Inversion S.A. (Renta 4), as depositary bank for its ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program.

La Caixa, aware that its growth will not be in consumer mortgage lending in the next few years, has decided to strengthen two activities with strong potential for growth: insurance, which includes SegurCaixa, and private banking. In January 2008, before the acquisition of the Morgan Stanley private banking operations (EUR9bn in assets), La Caixa Banca Privada had 8,000 clients with EUR16.6bn in assets; as of the end of 2009, assets under management totalled EUR41bn, Expansión reports. La Caixa Banca Privada has 300 specialised managers and 31 centres in the network, serving 30,000 clients with disposable wealth of EUR500,000 or more. Within this division, La Caixa has created the Altium segment, which focuses on clients with more than EUR10m: this segment includes 265 clients, with assets of EUR5.71bn. La Caixa Banca Privada this year launched a new product aimed at high net worth clients: the Albus investment fund, for which minimal subscription is EUR1m. It is aiming for stable growth in its capital in the mid-term, and has already attracted EUR355m.

Global index provider Dow Jones Indexes today announced the launch of the Dow Jones UAE 25 Index, which reflects the performance of the 25 largest and most liquid shares traded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Dow Jones UAE 25 Index will also form the basis for the first ETF in the United Arab Emirates, from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). The Dow Jones NBAD OneShare UAE 25 ETF will be listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange at the end of March. At the end of February, the five largest shares in the index by the volume of publicly traded capital (float) were Emirates Telecommunications Corp, First Gulf Bank PJSC, Emaar Properties PJSC, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC. The percentage of total capital represented by each share by traded volume is limited to 8% of the index, while companies which represent 5% or more of the index must together make up no more than 40% of the total index.

Les Echos reports that the Spanish presidency of the European Union and Strasbourg representatives will meet today in Brussels to reach agreement over their positions on a draft directive regulate the activities of hedge funds. The questions to be settled include the problem of a “European passport” which would allow managers based outside Europe to offer their funds throughout the European Union, under certain conditions, as soon as they are authorised for sale in any one of the member countries.

“We hope that the AIFM directive will be passed by the end of June,” Emil Paulis, director, Financial Services Policy & Financial Markets for the European Union, has announced at a conference held by the Luxembourg association of investment funds (ALFI). He added that the core of the problem currently is not the idea of the European passport, but rather the conditions under which it will be possible to obtain it.

Natixis Asset Management announced on 24 March that it has launched the FCP Natixis Absolute Multistratégies fund, which offers preferred access to multi-asset class strategies selected from an international universe, and which has two drivers of performance, one fundamental, and the other quantitative. Natixis Absolute Multistratégies aims for annual returns 2% above the Eonia, capitalised for I-class shares, over a recommended investment duration of 2 years. The investment is aimed primarily at institutional and business clients. Natixis Absolute Multistratégies has a very broad investment universe. It invests in all asset classes (equities, bonds, money markets, currencies, commodity indices, etc), and in all geographical regions (developed and emerging countries). To achieve its performance objectives, the management team uses a wide range of strategies: directional positions (long and short) and arbitrage positions on all investment horizons, short-term and long-term. The portfolio is mostly invested in liquid supports (ETFs, futures contracts).

Robert L. Duncan, a hedge fund manager who posted years of solid results even during the turbulent fourth quarter of 2008, admitted to two of his investors that he had been faking his performance numbers since at least 2006, according to a complaint filed in court on Friday and people familiar with the situation. Victims in the case include an Atlanta trust and two well-known Atlanta investment managers who had invested client money with Mr. Duncan and his fund, Seaside Partners Fund LP, says the Wall Street Journal.

With the Multigest Select Alpha, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers (EDRIM) has launched a fund of multi-strategy hedge funds compliant with UCITS III, which itself takes the form of a French-registered FCP fund aimed at retail and institutional investors. The product offers weekly liquidity, and invests in underlying funds, two thirds of which which themselves offer weekly liquidity, while the remainder offer daily liquidity. Michel Saugné, co-manager of the Multigest Select Alpha fund, says that in order to earn returns of 6-8% with volatility of under 8%, EDRIM will focus on UCITS hedge funds which may use a pure strategy and whose performance is not negatively affected by an «onshore» replication of their strategies within the UCITS III format. Products included in the portfolio of 15-30 positions, selected from a universe of about 200 funds, will include regulated, liquid, transparent and diversified funds. This will exclude replications of less liquid strategies, but will allow managers to select the best replications and the best management talents for funds in strategies such as long/short equity (60%), CTA (15%), global macro, and also statistical arbitrage, emerging markets, and event-driven equities. Characteristics Name: Multi Select AlphaISIN code: FR0010854539 (C class), FR0010855015 (I class)Subscription commission: 2% maximumManagement fees: 1.70% maximum (C class); 1.10% maximum (I class)Performance commission: 10% of performance exceeding the Eonia capitalised annuallyMinimal initial subscription: 1 C-class share; EUR100,000 (I class)Initial value of shares: EUR100 (C class); EUR10.000 (I class)

The British management association (IMA) has welcomed the decision of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to work closely with professionals in the sector to amend the stamp duty regime. The tax, which applies to funds which are licensed for sale in the United Kingdom, may be discontinued. The tax also applies to British funds investing in other funds, although these funds may not invest in British equities. This is the area in which the tax may be discontinued, which would allow funds domiciled in the United Kingdom to once again become competitive with offshore funds. The British government has also announced plans to set up a working group to consider the possible establishment of a tax-transparent contractual fund vehicle. The government is also considering making improvements to the new regime for funds investing in unregulated offshore funds.

The new Chinese fund from Martin Currie, the Martin Currie China Fund, is now available to British investors. The vehicle, managed by James Chong, director, is a multi-capitalisation portfolio of 40-60 positions, representing the best investment ideas of Martin Currie for China and Hong Kong. The benchmark index is the MSCI Zhong Hua. Front-end fees are 5%, while annual fees are 1.5% for retail and 1% for institutional share classes.

Hedge Week reports that the British HSBC group on 24 March launched an ETF fund, the HSBC MSCI Japan ETF, which will provide investors a means of exposure to the performance of Japanese large and midcaps. The fund will initially be listed on the London stock exchange, and then on other European markets. The total expense ratio (TER) for the fund has been set at 0.40%.

In 2009, DekaBank, the central asset management firm for the German savings banks, has announced “economic” profits (profits by IFRS accounting standards, before taxes, and with valuation of financial instruments not included in results), for a record total of EUR661.8m, compared with EUR71.5m in 2008. The asset management/securities (Asset Management Kapitalmarkt, or AMK) division has earned economic profits of EUR330.3m, compared with EUR241.5m in the previous year. Due to net outflows of EUR5.4bn from money market funds, net redemptions totalled EUR2.5bn, compared with net subscriptions of EUR520m in 2008, while assets as of the end of December totalled EUR130.1bn, compared with EUR123.5bn (+5.3%). For the asset management/real estate (Asset Management Immobilien, or AMI) division, net subscriptions totalled EUR2.5bn, compared with EUR1.4bn, and economic profits, including exceptionals, came to EUR60.8m, compared with EUR105.1m in 2008.

Although a majority of German institutional investors (82%) agree that emerging markets will play a crucial role this year, only 44% of them have given them a major place in their portfolios, Schroders has found in a recent study. This divergence may continue to be large, Schroders states. Only 51% of respondents say they are planning to increase their exposure to emerging markets in the nest 24 months. Schroders also notes that equities have returned to the portfolios of pension funds, insurers and banks in Germany. While in January, heads of allocation at German institutional investors had an average of 47% of their portfolios invested in equities, 69% now say equities have strong potential this year, the study finds. From a regional perspective, 53% are plannign to make strong investments in European equities in the nest 24 months. Interest in US equities is more moderate (21%).

As of 30 September, the open-ended real estate funds hausInvest europa (EUR10.9bn) and hausInvest global (EUR1.6bn) will be merged by Commerz Real to form the new hausInvest fund, which will have total assets of EUR12.5bn, making it the largest real estate fund in Europe. On the basis of current figures, the fund will own 125 commercial properties in 69 cities in 19 countries, with 87% of these properties in stable European markets, and the remaining 13% located in economically strong areas of Asia and North America. The new hausInvest fund will be at least 85% invested in Europe, while the extra-European portfolio will not be permitted to exceed 15% The total floor area of properties owned by the new fund will be about 3 million square metres. As of 31 December, these spaces were 96% occupied. The hausInvest europa fund currently has a liquidity rate of 27%, while the hausInvest global fund has 12% of its assets in cash. On the basis of current figures, the new fund will have a liquidity rate of 26%, corresponding to EUR3bn. The merger will not require subscribers to take any action, and all costs will be covered by Commerz Real.

Today, March 25th, 2010, the German BVI association of asset management firms celebrates its 40thanniversary. Since 25 March 1970, assets at member firms have risen from EUR5.4bn to about EUR1.7trn. Total assets under management have thus been multiplied by a factor of nearly 315.

Lyxor Asset Managenent has listed several new French-registered ETF funds on Deutsche Börse. The products include four funds which invest in publicly-traded real estate, and two which are focused on bonds. Among the real estate ETFs are one fund which invests in Europe (Lyxor ETF MSCI Europe Real Estate), one based on the United States (Lyxor ETF MSCI USA Real Estate), one focused on Asia ex Japan (Lyxor ETF MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Real Estate), and one based on global real estate markets, the Lyxor ETF MSCI World Real Estate (see Newsmanagers of 11 February 2010). The bond ETFs include one fund which invests in European government bonds rated AAA (Lyxor ETF Euro MTS AAA Government Bond) and one based on European investment grade-rated corporate bonds, excluding the financial sector (Lyxor ETF Euro Coporate ex Financials). With the new products, the number of funds listed on the XTF segment of the Xetra electronic platform from Deutsche Börse comes to 617.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is probing bets made against stocks before new offerings, in inquiries focused on hedge funds including Appaloosa Management and Carlson Capital, says the Wall Street Journal.

The Spanish management firm from the British Barclays group, Barclays Wealth Managers, has begun a sales campaign for the Barclays Multi Alpha fund, a fund of funds which invests in 30 UCITS III format hedge funds worldwide, Funds People reports. The fund, which has assets of EUR85m, was launched in August 2009, following the conversion of the Barclays Selección. The performance objective for the fund is the Euribor plus 350 basis points. As of the beginning of March, the portfolio was 29.5% invested in relative value strategies, 22.5% in global macro, 21% in long/short equity, and 13.25% in CTA, while the remainder was held in cash.

La Tribune qui cite le président directeur général de la Société Générale rapporte que les dépréciations et décotes sur actifs risqués pourraient coûter entre 700 millions et 1 milliard d’euros à banque. Le groupe détenait 35,5 milliards d’euros d’actifs dits « à risque» à fin décembre 2009, précise le quotidien.

Natixis Asset Management a annoncé le 24 mars le lancement du FCP Natixis Absolute Multistratégies censé offrir «un accès privilégié à des stratégies multi classes d’actifs dans un univers international» et qui bénéficie d’un double moteur de performance : l’un fondamental, l’autre quantitatif.Natixis Absolute Multistratégies a pour objectif d’obtenir une performance annuelle supérieure de 2 % à l’Eonia capitalisé pour les parts I, sur une durée de placement recommandée de 2 ans. Ce placement est destiné principalement à la clientèle institutionnelle et entreprises. Le fonds est investi sur toutes les classes d’actifs (actions, obligations, monétaire, devises, indices de matières premières, etc.) et sur l’ensemble des zones géographiques (pays développés et émergents). Pour atteindre l’objectif de performance, l’équipe de gestion met en oeuvre une large palette de stratégies : positions directionnelles (acheteuses ou vendeuses) et positions d’arbitrage sur l’ensemble des horizons d’investissement, du court terme au long terme. Enfin, le portefeuille est principalement investi sur des supports liquides (ETF, contrats Futures). Absolute Multistratégies s’appuie par ailleurs sur deux approches complémentaires et indépendantes.1. Une approche de type «global macro» : le gérant s’appuie sur de multiples types d’analyses (macro-économique, analyse technique, valorisation des marchés, momentum…) pour optimiser le profil rendement/risque du placement en fonction de ses convictions et du niveau de risque du ou des actifs sous-jacents. 2. Une approche quantitative : un outil, développé en interne, permet de détecter les principales tendances de marché de manière systématique. Le calibrage des positions fait l’objet d’un processus d’optimisation pour avoir une allocation équilibrée et robuste. Les deux moteurs sont gérés de façon indépendante avec une répartition équilibrée au sein du portefeuille. Les différentes stratégies mises en place sont calibrées selon leurs contributions au risque global du fonds et suivies quotidiennement. Ainsi, le niveau cible de volatilité est de 3,50 %.

Selon les Echos, l’ancien directeur général de la Caisse des Dépôts, Philippe Lagayette, a quitté son poste de vice-président au niveau européen fin janvier, après 12 ans dans la banque à Paris. Agé de 67 ans, il reste administrateur de Renault, Fimalac et PPR. Il est par ailleurs président de l’Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHES), de la fondation pour la recherche sur la maladie d’Alzheimer et de la French American Foundation. Il est également très actif auprès de l’Université Saint Joseph, à Beyrouth.