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16/02/2010

Man Investments se repose sur apano pour la distribution

Le prestataire allemand de services financiers apano et le gestionnaire alternatif britannique Man investments sont convenus d'étendre leur partenariat stratégique à l’Autriche. Ils ouvrent ensemble un bureau de représentation à Vienne, sous la direction de Thomas Steiner comme head of distribution. L’intéressé a été director of sales de C-Quadrat avant de mettre sur pied le site d’informations sur les fonds foonds.com de Styria Börse.Dans cette coopération, apano prendra en charge le suivi sur place des CGP et des pools de courtiers. Une activité de suivi de la clientèle de particuliers sera lancée avant la fin de l’année.Le consultant Dirk Herrmann, ancien patron de Fidelity pour l’Autriche, va accompagner la montée en charge du projet.
16/02/2010
Fonds

Les single hedge funds pèsent le double des fonds de hedge funds

Selon les statistiques élaborées par Lipper pour Funds People, les single hedge funds (FIL) espagnols affichaient fin décembre un encours de 588 millions d’euros, soit à peu près le même volume qu’en juillet 2008, contre 400 millions en mars 2009.En revanche, l’encous des fonds de hedge funds sont tombés d’un milliard d’euros en juillet 2008 à 400 millions en mars 2009 et ils ont terminé l’année dernière avec seulement 310 millions d’euros.
Fonds
16/02/2010

Cajamar va confier ses fonds à Intermoney

Pour des raisons de coûts, Cajamar a pris la décision de faire gérer et administrer ses six fonds d’investissement, dont l’encours a baissé en 2009 de 10,9 % à 165,3 millions d’euros, par Intermoney, rapporte Cinco Días. L’accord correspondant pourrait être conclu dans les prochains jours, a indiqué la caisse d'épargne rurale andalouse.
16/02/2010

L'introduction en Bourse de Banca Fideuram bientôt en discussion

L’introduction en Bourse de sa filiale de gestion d’actifs Banca Fideuram, discutée lors d’un conseil d’administration prévu le 23 février, pourrait représenter pour Intesa Sanpaolo entre 2,5 et 3,5 milliards d’euros, selon les analystes financiers cités par la Tribune.
16/02/2010

Les sociétés de gestion italiennes doivent fusionner, selon Assogestioni

Dans une interview à Il Sole – 24 Ore, Marcello Messori, le président de l’association italienne des professionnels de la gestion (Assogestioni), estime que le secteur italien de la gestion d’actifs aurait besoin d’un mouvement de concentration qui donne naissance à quelques grandes entités capables de concurrencer les acteurs européens, et à plusieurs petites sociétés spécialisées. Cela permettrait de réduire la dépendance des sociétés de gestion à l’égard des banques. Le secteur italien de la gestion d’actifs est en crise, surtout les fonds de droit italien, rappelle l’article.
16/02/2010

Certificate market shows recovery in 2009

According to statistics from the Deutscher Derivative Verband, assets in the German certificate market as of the end of December totalled EUR103.2bn, compared with EUR80.5bn at the end of January 2009. This strong rebound thus offset a steep drop from the peak of EUR139bn in September 2007, in the wake of the Lehman Brothers disaster. As of the end of September 2008, the total volume of assets was EUR110bn, while as of the end of December 2008, they totalled EUR80.2bn. The largest category on the certificate market is guaranteed certificates, which represented about EUR70bn as of the end of the year, compared with EUR42bn in January.
16/02/2010

LaCrosse Global signs partnership with RiskMetrics

The hedge fund administrator LaCrosse Global Fund Services announced just before the weekend that it has signed a partnership agreement with the RiskMetrics group, by which its clients will be allowed to use tools from the data provider for risk reporting and other purposes. LaCrosse says in a statement that the RiskMetrics platform HedgePlatform Community allows hedge funds and funds of funds to offer transparency on the subject of risk without giving details of its positions if it prefers not to do so. “In a secure environment, hedge funds control the granularity level and the statistics which they choose to make available to investors,” says LaCrosse.
16/02/2010

ProShares launches eight leveraged ETFs

The US-based management firm ProShares has announced the launch of four pairs of UltraPro ETFs, with triple leverage, in long (3x) and short (-3x) varieties, based on the broadest market indices of the United States, the Nasdaq 100 (acronym TQQQ), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (UDOW), the S&P MidCap400 (UMDD), and the Russell 2000 (URTY). All of these funds carry management fees of 0.95%.
16/02/2010

Julius Baer plans to create an advisory board

In an interview with Agefi Switzerland, Boris F. J. Collardi, CEO of the Julius Baer group, says the group’s ambition is to be a top performer from an absolute return point of view. With this in mind, “we would like to control the entire value chain: to have the idea, to reflect on the subject, decide now to play it, and to have the research available for the client. This service should be part of the Julius Baer range of offerings, both offshore and onshore throughout the world, while we can also remain focused on what we can do best ourselves, buying in added help from outside this circle when we need it from third parties who do good research, when we consider it a good choice to do so. We are planning to set up an advisory board which will allow us to better apprehend mega-trends, related to cultural, political, environmental, and geographical developments.”
16/02/2010

Warren Buffett becomes largest shareholder in Munich Re

In a statement to the market on Friday, Munich Re announced that Warren E. Buffett had notified it that his stake in the firm’s capital on 4 February passed the 5% threshold. On that date he held 5.073% of capital, via Berkshire Hathaway and its affiliate OBH Inc. On 11 March, the investor known as the “Oracle of Omaha” may also exercise options on nearly 2% of the firm’s capital, which would bring the value of his exposure to the German reinsurer to about EUR1.5bn. The second-largest shareholder in Munich Re is BlackRock, with about 4.6% of capital. Das Investment reports, citing Bloomberg, that Carla Goldenberg, a hedge fund manager at Highbridge (an affiliate of JPMorgan AM), has been invited to lunch with Buffett, apparently without having to pay the USD2m price tag ordinarily associated with such an appointment.
16/02/2010

M&G releases details of “Club Med” portfolio

Concerns about countries on the periphery of the Euro Zone have led M&G Investments to release details of its pan-European funds’ exposure to markets such as Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The M&G Pan European fund has 15.9% of its assets invested in these countries, of which 5.9% are in Ireland, 4.4% in Greece, and 5% in Spain, Expansión reports. In Spain, the fund is 1.9% invested in Telefónica and Grifols, and 1.2% invested in Santander. For the M&G European Strategic Value Fund, total exposure to peripheral markets is only 8.5%, of which 4.4% is invested in Italy, and 2.3% in Spain, via Repsol.
16/02/2010

East Capital on the comeback trail

The Swedish asset management firm East Capital, a specialist in Eastern European markets, was not spared when the markets crashed. Its assets fell from a peak of EUR5.7bn at the end of 2007, to EUR1.8bn as of the end of 2008. “This decline was primarily related to a fall in valuations,” says Karine Hirn, CEO and co-founder of East Capital, adding that net redemptions accounted for about 15% of the fall in assets. This situation led to fears at the independent management firm of an operating loss for 2009, and led it to close its Milan office, as well as 45 job cuts worldwide. But in 2009, assets began to climb again, as the markets turned around and net subscriptions of about EUR180m came in, largely from Scandinavian markets. As of the end of 2009, assets totalled EUR3.3bn, and with the combined effect of this and the austerity measures taken, the firm was able to remain profitable in 2009.
16/02/2010

Goldman Sachs recruits for sales teams

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has recruited four people as additions to its deams dedicated to sales in Europe. Europe. Martijn Hoogendijk and Brittne-Aspen Whitelaw, formerly of BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, respectively, will be in charge of the Benelux region. In Italy, Loredana La Pace, who joins the firm from Allianz Global Investors, and Giancarlo Fonseca, from Alico Wealth Management, have been recruited, Citywire reports.
16/02/2010

Inflows rebounded in 2009

In 2009, funds on sale in Europe posted total net inflows of EUR190bn, whereas they underwent net redemptions of EUR298bn the previous year, according to the most recent statistics from Lipper FMI. Inflows were driven by equities funds, which attracted EUR112bn, exactly the same amount that flowed out of funds in 2008, Lipper FMI notes. Bond funds were also successful in attracting inflows, with EUR86bn in net inflows, nearly half of which were invested in investment grade corporate bond funds (EUR36bn). This sector was the most dynamic of the year, Lipper FMI observes.
16/02/2010

Crisis eliminates chaff from fund market

According to statistics from Morningstar and Lipper, reported in Handelsblatt, 2009 was the first year when the number of funds launched in Germany and Europe was smaller than the number of funds closed or merged. In Europe, there were 2,262 new funds launched last year, while 2,973 funds were closed, and 1,389 were merged, while these respective totals were 3,787, 2,154 and 1,079 in 2008. In Germany, 591 newly-created funds did not make up for 410 closures and 329 mergers.
16/02/2010

Steep decline in the number of vulnerable debt issuers worldwide

According to a recently-published study by Standard & Poor’s, the number of vulnerable debt issuers worldwide has fallen significantly from its peak in April 2009 (300 businesses). As of 8 February, Standard & Poor’s found a total of 213 firms (including 141 in the United States) in this category, which includes issuers rated B- or lower, with a negative orientation to ratings, either because the firm is affected by a negative outlook, or because it is subject to a negative ratings watch. One year previously, the number of vulnerable businesses totaled 265. The cumulative debt of these 213 firms as of the beginning of February totaled USD197.53bn. The ratings agency also points out that from the beginning of the year to 8 February, it has counted 13 defaults by issuers, representing USD5.9bn in debt. For the year 2009 as a whole, it counted 264 issuers in default, with total debt of USD627.7bn. Most of the defaults observed since the beginning of this year have been in the United States (12). Meanwhile, after 19 consecutive months of increase, the default rate on speculative category corporate debt has fallen for the second consecutive month, to 9.22% worldwide in January, compared with 9.23% in December 2009. In the United States, this rate has fallen to 10.89%, from 10.92% in December. However, the default rate increased in Europe,. From 7.5% in December to 8.27% in January of this year. The same trend may be seen in emerging markets, where the default rate is up to 5.94% from 5.91%.
16/02/2010

AMF warns investors against Global International Trading

The French regulator AMF issued a statement on February 15 drawing the attention of the public to the activities of Global International Trading, a firm headquartered in Japan. The firm operates by telephone, contacting investors largely resident in France, to offer them shares issued by mining companies which it claims have a high potential for growth. The AMF states that the firm is not licensed “either to operate, or to conduct activities as a provider of investment services, or to receive funds, in France.” However, it has already been the subject of a warning from the Dutch counterpart of the AMF, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). The AMF consequently recommends that investors ignore solicitations from this firm. The AMF has handed over information in its possession about this firm to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
16/02/2010

Single hedge funds have double the asset volumes of funds of hedge funds

According to statistics compiled by Lipper for Funds People, Spanish single hedge funds (FIL) as of the end of December had assets of EUR588m, nearly the same volume as in July 2008, compared with EUR400m in March 2009. However, assets in funds of hedge funds have fallen from EUR1bn in July 2008 to EUR400m as of March 2009, and finished last year with only EUR310m.
16/02/2010

Man Investments teams up with apano for distribution

The German financial services provider apano and the UK alternative asset manager Man Investments have agreed to extend their strategic partnership in Austria. They will be opening a branch office together in Vienna, with Thomas Steiner as head of distribution. Steiner was previously head of sales at C-Quadrat, before setting up the fund information website foonds.com for Styria Börse. As a part of this partnership, apano will be in charge of monitoring the IFA market and brokerage pools. Retail client assistance will be added to this by the end of the year. The consultant Dirk Herrmann, former head of Fidelity for Austria, will also be involved in setting up the project.
16/02/2010

Former Citigroup trader launches a hedge fund

Andrew Hall, a former energy trader from Citigroup, and now head of Phibro, is raising money for a new hedge fund firm which he has founded, entitled Astenbeck Capital Management, the Financial Times reports. The new entity already has USD1.4bn in assets under management.
16/02/2010

HSBC adds to prime brokerage services

Chris Barrow, previously of Nomura, where he was head of international sales of prime brokerage services, has joined HSBC as global head of sales for the group’s prime services team. Barrow will report directly to Clan Burke, head of HSBC Prime Services; Brian Heyworth, head of sales for the international market division in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and to Paul Stillibower, international head of development for activities of HSBC Securities Services.
16/02/2010

T. Rowe Price launches an infrastructure fund

T. Rowe Price has announced the launch of an infrastructure fund, the Global Infrastructure Fund, which offers a long-term strategy based on investment in equities related to the infrastructure sector worldwide, including the United States. The fund will also be available to retail investors. The fund will seek to invest in 60 to 90 businesses of all cap sizes in numerous regions of the world, and expects to be able to offer some protection against inflation by taking positions on firms whose cash flows are inflation-linked. Exposure to emerging markets will be significant, in light of infrastructure needs in these regions. Minimal investment for the fund is USD2,500 for institutionals, and USD1,000 for retail investors. The net expense ratio has been set at 1.10% for institutionals, and 1.20% for retail investors.
16/02/2010

IASB: Trustees overhaul governance

The trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation, the organisation which oversees the work of the IASB, which establishes international accounting standards, on 15 February announced a series of improvements to its governance principles. The modifications, which are intended to increase responsibility at the IASB, the engagement of participants and operational effectiveness, is part of a revision of the IASC’s Constitution undertaken every five years. The changes approved by the trustees include the introduction of public consultations every three years on the IASB’s technical program, the adoption fo IFRS accounting standards through a convergence process which is not an objective in itself, and an engagement to establish an approach based on principles. The trustees also approved the introduction of a clause allowing urgent procedures, “only in the most exceptional circumstances and only with the approval of at least 79% of the trustees.” This procedure was already used by the IASB in October 2008, when it made rapid and unprecedented revisions to the IAS39 and IFRS 7 standards. The organisation, which represents all entities involved in theoretical and practical work to normalize international accounting standards, will also be revised to provide increased transparency. The IASC Foundation has been renamed as the IFRS Foundation, while the committee in charge of interpretations (IFRIC), and the consulting council, have been renamed, respectively, as IFRS Interpretations Committee and IFRS Advisory Council. The new Constitution will take effect on 1 March 2010. The trustees will soon publish a full and exhaustive report explaining their conclusions.
16/02/2010

Bellevue acquires 10% of Auerbach Grayson

Bellevue Group announced on 12 February that it has acquired a 10% stake in the US brokerage firm Auerbach Grayson & Co. The transaction is estimated at USD2.5m. Bellevue has already been involved in a collaboration with the New York-based firm for three years, which allowed it to breach the American market without needing to set up its own infrastructure, Bellevue points out in a statement. The Auerbach Grayson company, founded in 1993 and led by its two co-founders, Jonathan Auerbach and David Grayson, has a network of nearly 480 analysts throughout the world, covering 127 markets.
16/02/2010

Santander AM changes strategy

With the appointment of Juan Alcaraz, the former head of Allfunds Bank, as the number two at the private banking and asset management division of Santander, the market will see an evolution of Santander Asset Management towards open architecture, Expansión reports. The new strategy will be to offer equities and bond funds based on markets where the asset management firm has specialists (Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Puerto Rico), and to outsource products covering other regions of the world.
16/02/2010

LV=AM appoints a CIO

Piers Hillier has been appointed chief investment officer (CIO) of LV=Asset Management. He was previously head of investment at West LB Mellon Asset Management, Money Marketing reports.
16/02/2010

Good results for hedge fund ETF from db x-trackers

For the year since its launch on 31 January 2009, the db x-trackers db Hedge Fund Index ETF (ISIN: LU 032 847 633 7) has generated returns of 7.5%, with volatility of 3.56%. The product with daily liquidity has attracted assets of nearly EUR900m. It is invested in over 40 hedge funds, following a distribution between equity hedge, event driven, systematic macro, credit & convertible and equity market neutral strategies corresponding to that of the HFRX index.
15/02/2010
Fonds

Assenagon lance un fonds à capital protégé

Le luxembourgeois Assenagon Asset Management a indiqué avoir reçu de la BaFin l’agrément de commercialisation en Allemagne d’un fonds en euros conforme à la directive OPCVM III géré sur un modèle quantitatif par Dorian Ruffini (head of quantitative structuring) et qui propose un effet de cliquet à 80 % de chaque nouveau plus haut. Le portefeuille de ce fonds ouvert tant aux particuliers qu’aux institutionnels sera investi en indices sectoriels du DJ Stoxx 600 total return, l’objectif étant de surperformer grâce à une gestion active et à la détection de signaux de changement de tendance. La stratégie consistera également à passer d’ETF sectoriels actions à des ETF obligataires en cas de forte augmentation de la volatilité des marchés d’actions. D’autre part, le gérant pourra basculer jusqu'à 100 % en monétaire si le plancher des 80 % du plus haut s’approche.La rétropolation sur dix ans a montré selon Assenagon que cette stratégie aurait fourni un rendement supérieur à celui du DJ Stoxx 600 TR avec une volatilité correspondant à la moitié de ce benchmark. Et le niveau de protection n’aurait jamais été touché.Caractéristiques Dénomination : Assenagon Trend Sektor 80 ISIN : LU0475770987 (part P particuliers) LU0475769898 (part I institutionnelle) Prix d'émission : 50 euros (part P) 1.000 euros (part I) Droit d’entrée : 3 % (part P) Commission de gestion : 1,3 % (part P) 0,5 % (part I) Taxe d’abonnement : 0,05 (part P) 0,01 % (part I)
Fonds
15/02/2010
Fonds

DEGI proroge de neuf mois la fermeture du DEGI International

Aberdeen Immobilien KAG (anciennement DEGI) a annoncé vendredi qu’en raison de conditions de marché toujours difficile le gel des remboursements de parts du fonds immobilier offert au public DEGI International va être prolongé de neuf mois dans un premiers temps jusqu’au 16 novembre 2010.Pendant cette période, l'équipe de gestion s’efforcera de dégager des liquidités supplémentaires. Ce fonds d’environ 1,97 milliard d’euros d’encours (fin décembre) actuellement avait été fermé aux rachats fin octobre 2008 jusqu'à fin janvier 2009.Le 17 novembre (lire notre article du 18 novembre 2009), les remboursements avaient à nouveau été suspendus pour ce fonds ainsi que pour le DEGI Europa.
Fonds

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