Mardi, Claymore Securities a annoncé le lancement de trois ETF répliquant des indices de Wilshire Associates, à savoir le Wilshire 5000 Total Market (acronyme sur NYSE Arca : WFVK), le Wilshire 4500 Completon (WXSP) et le Wilshire US REIT (WREI). Le taux de frais du Wilshire 5000 Total market est affiché à 0,12 %, tandis que celui du Wilshire 45000 Completion ressort à 0,18 %. Quant au Wilshire US REIT, les frais sont annoncés à 0,32 %.
Le «German desk» de Jones Lang LaSalle à Londres a une nouvelle patronne : il s’agit de Verena Brüller, qui était en dernier lieu responsable des achats au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande pour Commerz Real (groupe Commerzbank).
Le gestionnaire écossais Martin Currie a lancé comme prévu mercredi son China Fund, un OEIC géré par James Chong et se focalisant sur la chine et Hong-Kong. Ce produit de 40-60 lignes utilisera comme indice de référence le MSCI Zhong Hua. Le droit d’entrée et la commission de gestion sont fixés à respectivement 5 % et 1,5 %, les frais de gestion pour la part institutionnelle (B) se situant à 1 %.Si le gérant est basé à Edimbourg, il peut puiser sur les ressources d’une équipe de 13 personnes basée à Shanghai.
Société Générale Cross-Asset Research a annoncé mardi 9 mars le recrutement au sein de son équipe de Stratégie Taux et Change à Londres de Mark Capleton au poste de Responsable de la Stratégie Taux Sterling et Inflation globale, et de Valentin Marinov en tant que Stratégiste Senior sur le Change. Il couvrira principalement le marché des Changes des pays du G10. Mark Capleton était auparavant en charge de la stratégie sur les taux européens chez RBS alors que Valentin Marinov était Stratégiste Senior Change chez Commerzbank. Tous deux travailleront sous la responsabilité de Vincent Chaigneau, Responsable de la Stratégie Taux et Change, précise le communiqué de l'établissement.
Les actifs sous gestion de F&C Asset Management se sont inscrits en recul au 31 déembre dernier à 97,8 milliards de livres contre 98,6 milliards un an plus tôt.F&C a toutefois renoué avec les bénéfices en dégageant un résultat imposable de 8,7 millions de livres après une perte de 67,3 millions de livres en 2008.
A l’occasion de la publication des résultats 2009 non audités de F&C Asset Management, le directeur général, Alain Grisay, a déclaré qu’il comptait accroître la taille et renforcer les capacités de la société de gestion qu’il dirige en matière de produits et de distribution, à la fois de manière organique et par le biais d’acquisitions. La société a d’ailleurs confirmé qu’elle restait en lice concernant le rachat de C-Quadrat, une société de gestion basée à Vienne. En 2009, F&C AM a vu ses encours reculer légèrement de 98,6 milliards de livres à fin décembre 2008 à 97,8 milliards fin 2009. Ses revenus nets ont décliné à 225,1 millions de livres contre 229,9 millions un an plus tôt. Le bénéfice d’exploitation est aussi en baisse, de 60,7 millions à 51,8 millions de livres.
Selon Finance Asia, Citi vient de recruter John Liptak qui avait rejoint il y a seulement neuf mois Tribridge Investment partners pour lancer un fonds asiatique dédié aux situations spéciales.John Liptak aura la responsabilité des situations spéciales et distressed sur la zone Asie-Pacifique (trading, market making, structuration, origination et distribution). Il sera basé à Hong Kong.
Allianz Global Investors (AGI) est peut-être le gestionnaire numéro un en Allemagne avec 248,4 milliards d’euros d’encours, mais il n’est que le numéro quatre pour les fonds offerts aux particuliers, les plus lucratifs, avec 79,1 milliards, souligne le Handelsblatt.Depuis qu’Allianz a vendu la Dresdner Bank à la Commerzbank, AGI a perdu un réseau de distribution captif, parce que la Commerzbank pratique l’architecture ouverte. Ses conseillers sont tenus de mettre en avant les meilleurs fonds… qui se trouvent souvent être actuellement ceux de Carmignac, comme le reconnaît James Dilworth, le CEO d’AGI Deutschland. Dès lors, AGI s’efforce de mettre au point des produits en commun avec la Commerzbank. James Dilworth reconnaît par ailleurs que certains partenaires de distribution ont eu un résultat négatif l’an dernier. Il ne veut pas dire lesquels, mais les proches du dossier affirment que le réseau d’Allianz fait partie du lot.
Le gestionnaire de fortune colonais Meridio a ouvert initialement du 10 au 19 mars la souscription d’un fonds diversifié conforme à la charia, le Meridio Global Islamic Multi Asset Fonds. Ce produit à gestion active de droit luxembourgeois sera lancé le 24 mars. Il pourra investir dans le monde entier en actions et en sukuks sous la surveillance d’une commission éthique composée de trois spécialistes reconnus du droit islamique.Le fonds, à liquidité journalière, est géré d’un côté par Rashad Khourshid, head of private banking de la Federbank of Libanon et gérant du Meridio ArabWorld Fund, et de l’autre par Antoine Salamé, fondateur d’Optimum Invest Libanon et head of trading chez Middle East Capital Group Libanon.Meridio estime le marché potentiel en Allemagne (où vivent 4,3 millions de musulmans) pour des produits financiers islamiques à environ 1,2 milliard d’euros par an. Caractéristiques Dénomination : Meridio Global Islamic Multi Asset Fonds ISIN : LU 0442310859 (part en euros) LU 0442311071 (part en USD) Droit d’entrée : 5 % maximum Commission de gestion : 1,5 % maximum Commission de performance : 15 % avec taux butoir de 5 % et all time high watermark
Le fonds Grapevault Wine Fund No.1 de Grapevault Wine Investments annonce avoir signé une prise de participation dans le vignoble Baron Knyphausen situé à Eltville en Allemagne. Le vignoble a le projet de renforcer sa distribution dans les restaurants et les canaux de distribution spécialisés, notamment en Europe, précise un communiqué.
La Deutsche Börse a annoncé que 13 ETF de la marque Xmtch (Credit Suisse) ont été admis à la négociation mercredi sur le segment XTF de sa plate-forme électronique Xetra. Cela porte à 30 le nombre des Xmtch cotés à Francfort, et à 589 le total des ETF sur le segment XTF. Le lancement et la première cotation de ces produits ont eu lieu en janvier sur la Bourse suisse SIX.Sur les treize fonds nouvellement cotés, sept sont libellés en euros, quatre en dollars et deux en livres sterling. Credit Suisse l’intention d'élargir encore son offre d’ETF, une classe de produit dans laquelle il gère actuellement environ 10 milliards de francs suisses. Nom de l’ETF ISIN Frais Monnaie Xmtch (IE) on DJ EURO STOXX 50 IE00B53L3W79 0,06% EUR Xmtch (IE) on DJ Industrial Average IE00B53L4350 0,22% USD Xmtch (IE) on FTSE 100 IE00B53HP851 0,22% GBP Xmtch (IE) on FTSE MIB IE00B53L4X51 0,20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Canada IE00B52SF786 0,36% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI EMU IE00B53QG562 0,20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Europe IE00B53QFR17 0,20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Japan IE00B53QDK08 0,36% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Pacific ex Japan IE00B52MJY50 0,35% USD Xmtch (IE) on MSCI UK IE00B539F030 0,21% GBP Xmtch (IE) on MSCI USA IE00B52SFT06 0,22% USD Xmtch (IE) on NASDAQ 100 IE00B53SZB19 0,17% USD Xmtch (IE) on Nikkei 225 IE00B52MJD48 0,38% EUR
Saxo Bank (5,4 milliards d’euros d’encours) a décidé d'élargir son activité aux investissements immobiliers et a créé pour ce faire une filiale dédiée, Saxo Properties qui proposera des fonds immobiliers fermés aux particuliers haut de gamme et aux investisseurs institutionnels. La nouvelle société est dirigée par Jesper Damborg comme CEO et Claus Klostermann comme managing director, qui comptent parmi les gestionnaires immobiliers les plus connus du Danemark. L’administration des immeubles est confiée à Flemming Schandorff, l’ancien COO d’ISS, l’un des principaux acteurs mondiaux du facility service.
Deutsche Börse has announced that 13 ETF funds with the Xmtch (Credit Suisse) brand were on Wednesday admitted to trading on the XTF segment of its Xetra electronic platform. The new additions bring the total number of Xmtch funds traded in Frankfurt to 30, and the total number of ETF funds on the XTF segment to 589. The launch and first listing of these products took place in January on the Swiss market SIX. Of the 13 newly-created funds, seven are denominated in Euros, four in US dollars, and two in pounds Sterling. Credit Suisse is planning to further extend its ETF product range, in a product category in which it currently manages about CHF10bn in assets. ETF Name ISIN Fees Currency Xmtch (IE) on DJ EURO STOXX 50 IE00B53L3W79 0.06% EUR Xmtch (IE) on DJ Industrial Average IE00B53L4350 0.22% USD Xmtch (IE) on FTSE 100 IE00B53HP851 0.22% GBP Xmtch (IE) on FTSE MIB IE00B53L4X51 0.20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Canada IE00B52SF786 0.36% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI EMU IE00B53QG562 0.20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Europe IE00B53QFR17 0.20% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Japan IE00B53QDK08 0.36% EUR Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Pacific ex Japan IE00B52MJY50 0.35% USD Xmtch (IE) on MSCI UK IE00B539F030 0.21% GBP Xmtch (IE) on MSCI USA IE00B52SFT06 0.22% USD Xmtch (IE) on NASDAQ 100 IE00B53SZB19 0.17% USD Xmtch (IE) on Nikkei 225 IE00B52MJD48 0.38% EUR
The Cologne-based wealth maangement firm Meridio has opened subscriptions to a Sharia-compliant diversified fund, Meridio Global Islamic Multi Asset Fonds, for an initial period from 10-19 March. The Luxembourg-registered, actively managed product will be launched on 24 March. It will invest worldwide in equities and sukuks, and will be overseen by an ethical committee composed of three well-known specialists in Islamic law. The fund will offer daily liquidity, and will be managed by Rashad Khourshid, head of private banking at the Federbank of Libanon and manager of the Meridio ArabWorld Fund, and Antoine Salamé, founder of Optimum Invest Libanon and head of trading at Middle East Capital Group Libanon. Meridio estimates the potential market for Islamic financial products in Germany at about EUR1.2bn per year. Characteristics Name: Meridio Global Islamic Multi Asset Fonds ISIN: LU 0442310859 (shares in EUR) LU 0442311071 (shares in USD) Front-end fees: 5% maximum Management commission: 1.5% maximum Performance commission: 15%, with a hurdle rate of 5% and an all time high watermark
Eagle Asset Management, an affiliate of Raymond James, has announced plans to liquidate its two money market funds, Eagle Money Market Fund (USD.156bn) and Eagle Municipal Money Market Fund (USD1.24bn) on 27 August. Shareholders will vote on the measure in an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on 12 August, but from 1 May, JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) will offer special “Eagle” share classes in its JPMorgan Prime Money Market Fund and JP Morgan Tax Free Money Market Fund, which will allow Eagle shareholders to transfer their assets to these well-known products. Eagle Cash Trust estimates that it is impossible to continue operating these funds in an economically viable manner, due to the volume of expected redemptions and the fact that the fee ratio for the funds would not remain competitive. In addition, Eagle states that “an intermediary whose clients hold a substantial majority of shares” (which may be Raymond James) has advised Eagle that it will no longer offer shares in the fund for sale after 9 July, and will instead offer the “Eagle Class” shares in the two JPMorgan funds.
Dreyfus Corp on 4 March obtained a sales license from the SEC for the Dreyfus Dynamic Alternatives Fund, a mutual fund which aims to generate performance equal to or higher than that of a diversified portfolio of hedge funds belonging to the HFRI Weighted Composite index. Front-end fees total 5.75%, and net fees total 1.45%. There will be a 2% penalty for early withdrawal within the first 60 days.
On Tuesday, Claymore Securities announced the launch of three ETF funds replicating indices from Wilshire Associates: the Wilshire 5000 Total Market (acronym on NYSE Arca: WFVK); the Wilshire 4500 Completon (WXSP), and the Wilshire US REIT (WREI).Fees for the Wilshire 5000 Total market fund are 0.12% while for the Wilshire 45000 Completion, fees total 0.18%. The Wilshire US REIT charges 0.32%.
To respond to strong growth in demand on the part of investors for the fund, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management announced on Tuesday, 9 October that it has converted the Europe Rendement Flexible fund into a UCITS III fund. The OPCVM fund, founded on 30 January 2009, aims to allow investors a gradual return to the European equities markets with reduced volatility, adjusting the exposure to equities (from 20% to 80%), through a flexible, tactical allocation.
On the basis of 76% of the usual sample, the Credit Suisse/Tremont hedge fund index is up 0.87% in February, following gains of .17% in January. The best monthly results were for managed futures, with gains of 2.01%, following losses of 3.81% in January, while the heaviest losses were for dedicated short bias, with 4.18%. For the first half of the year, distressed shows the best performance, with 2.42%, while the worst performer was, unsurprisingly, dedicated short bias, with losses of 3.92%.
For the first time since October 2008, equities funds on sale in Sweden saw net redemptions in the month of February. Outflows totalled SEK2.9bn (EUR300m), according to the Swedish investment fund association Fondbolagens Förening. This represents only 0.3% of assets in equities funds, which as of the end of February totalled SEK988bn (EUR102bn). In total, assets in Swedish funds totalled SEK1.691trn (EUR174bn). Net redemptions from equities funds in February were largely offset by net subscriptions of SEK4.9bn to money market funds. In total, funds saw an overall inflow of SEK4.6bn (EUR473m).
“We will be making a large recruitment, of about 10 people, most of whom will be dedicated to commercial development in Switzerland, Germany, Benelux, Italy, and Spain, ... and to developing expertise in emerging markets equities management,” said Jean-Louis Laurens, managing partner at Rothschild & Cie Gestion, at an asset management conference held by Reuters in Paris on 8-10 March. The management firm is also seeking a partner for its Sélection R platform, and has not ruled out the possibility of selling a controlling stake in the venture.
The private equity group Carlyle has recruited Michael Petrick as managing director and global head of alternative credit and capital markets. Petrick will also become a member of the executive board at Carlyle. He was previously at Morgan Stanley, where he spent 20 years, and where he was most recently managing director and global head of sales and institutional trading. He wil lbe based in New York, and will take up his new position at the end of March.
After Jupiter, Neptune Investment Management has become the next planet to make its debut in the French asset management industry. The British independent asset management firm, which manages about GBP5bn in assets (as of the end of 2009), has recently been issued a license by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) for nine of its funds.These funds are the Neptune Asia Pacific Opportunities, Neptune China, Neptune European Opportunities, Neptune Global Equity, Neptune India, Neptune Japan Opportunities, Neptune Russia & Greater Russia, Neptune UK Equity and Neptune US Opportunities. All of these are equity products. Three of them are managed by Robin Geffen, founder and managing director of the management firm: the China, Russia, and global funds, which Neptune says represent “the purest expression of the Neptune process.”The active management of the firm is based on internal research and the idea that the equities universe should be considered overall or by sectors, rather than by region.
The Scottish management firm Martin Currie on Wednesday launched its China Fund, an OEIC vehicle managed by James Chong and focused on Hong Kong, as planned. The product, with 40-60 positions, will use the MSCI Zhong Hua index as its benchmark. Front-end fee and management commission are set at 5% and 1.5%, respectively, while management fees for institutional (B) class shares are 1%. Though the manager is based in Edinburgh, a team of 13 people based in Shanghai are at his disposal.
Allianz Global Investors (AGI) may be the largest management firm in Germany, with EUR248.4bn in assets, but it is only the fourth-largest management firm for open-ended retail funds, the most lucrative category, with EUR79.1bn, Handelsblatt reports. Since Allianz sold Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank, AGI has lost its captive distribution network, as Commerzbank practices open architecture. Its advisors are required to recommend the best funds - which are currently often products from Carmignac, James Dilworth, CEO of AGI Deutschland, admits. AGI is now seeking to set up joint products with Commerzbank. Dilworth admits that some distribution partners saw negative results last year. He will not say which ones, but sources familiar with the matter say that Allianz may be one of them.
After the best year in its history, the hedge fund management firm Vega, which had assets as of the end of December of about USD400m, has decided to reopen its three funds Vega Global (USD123m), Vega Select Opportunities (USD94.5m) and Vega Credit Opportunities (USD14m) to subscriptions, Expansión reports. According to sources familiar with the matter, the manager, Ravi Mehra, will not accept subscriptions from US investors. Vega, which also manages USD150m in mandates, had USD12bn in assets in 2004. Due to difficulties related to this excessive volume and the departure of some managers, Vega converted itself into a family office in 2007 and 2008, for its two managers, Mehra and Jesús Saá Requejo.
Saxo Bank (EUR5.4bn in assets) has decided to extend its activities to real estate investments, and to this end has founded a dedicated affiliate, Saco Properties, which will offer closed real estate funds to high net worth private and institutional investors. The new firm will be led by Jasper Dambord as CEO, and Claus Klostermann as managing director, and will feature some of the best-known managers in Demark on its management team. Property management will be handled by flemming Schandorff, former COO of ISS and one of the top global actors in facility service.
The German desk at Jones Lang LaSalle in London has a new head: Verena Brüller, who was most recently head of purchasing for the UK and Ireland at Commerz Real (Commerzbank group).
On the occasion of the publication of unaudited 2009 results for F&C Asset Management, CEO Alain Grisay announced plans to increase the size and strengthen the capacity of the management firm he leads in the area of products and distribution, both organically and through acquisitions. He firm has also confirmed that it will remain in the running to acquire C-Quadrat, a management firm based in Vienna. In 2009, F&C AM saw a slight decrease in its assets, from GBP98.6bn as of the end of December 2008 to GBP97.8bn as of the end of 2009. Net revenues declines to GBP225.1m from GBP229.9m one year earlier. Operating profits were also down, from GBP60.7m to GBP51.8m.
Société Générale Cross-Asset Research no Tuesday, 9 March announced the recruitment for its fixed income and currency strategy in London of Mark Capleton, who becomes head of Sterling fixed income strategy and global inflation, and Valentin Marinov as senior currency strategist. He will primarily cover G10 currency markets. Capleton was previously head of European fixed income strategy at RBS, while Marinov was senior currencies strategist at Commerzbank. Both will report to Vincent Chaigneau, head of fixed income and currency strategies, according to a statement from the firm.