«Sans avoir été extraordinaire, 2009 devrait rester comme une bonne année dans les annales de Barings en France», souligne Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson, président de Baring France SAS. De fait, actuellement, l’encours représente environ 850 millions d’euros contre 550 millions début janvier, et les souscriptions nettes pour les fonds se sont situées aux alentours de 150 millions d’euros. Les mandats totalisent quelque 300 millions d’euros d’actifs.L’effet de marché a bien évidemment joué en faveur de l’antenne commerciale française du gestionnaire britannique, puisque la gamme comporte principalement des fonds d’actions. De plus, l’offre est très typée «pays émergents», et la collecte nouvelle a ainsi surtout concerné les fonds Global Emerging Markets et Chine ainsi que produit Europe de l’Est, même si l’Euroselect Midcap a bien figuré dans le palmarès des meilleures ventes. En 2009, deux fonds émergents sont venus enrichir les rayons, un produit China Select (valeurs chinoises plutôt de moyennes capitalisations cotées à Hong-Kong) et un Asean Frontiers, spécialiste des partenaires et voisins de la Chine.Plusieurs nouveaux produits devraient pouvoir être importés en France dans un avenir relativement proche, comme un fonds agriculture (qui existe déjà au Royaume-Uni et qui est géré par la même équipe que le fonds matières premières) et un autre sur le Moyen-Orient/Afrique du Nord. A plus long terme, Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson envisage la commercialisation d’un fonds sur les quatre grands pays émergents (Brésil, Russie, Inde et Chine) ainsi qu’un fonds d’actions indiennes.Barings veut ainsi capitaliser sur sa bonne image de gestionnaire actif et performant dans l’univers émergent, en se concentrant sur une relation de long terme avec une clientèle de professionnels, à savoir, actuellement, un tiers de multigérants, un tiers de distributeurs (assurances, plates-formes) et un tiers d’institutionnels. «Cela exclut les coup de marketing et réclame beaucoup de service, de conseil, de reporting (à J+ 1)», explique le patron du bureau de Paris qui ne veut pas exclure une prudente remontée en charge de l’effectif si les bons résultats continuent d'être au rendez-vous.En attendant, Barings France soigne ses relations avec plusieurs plates-formes d’assureurs et de banques où la société est déjà référencée. C’est également le cas pour Boursorama, où Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson ne serait pas hostile à mettre les moyens pour que Barings figure parmi les établissements «mentionnés en gras».

Pimco, filiale d’Allianz, vient de recruter Neel Kashkari en tant que managing director et responsable des nouvelles initiatives d’investissement. Il était depuis mai 2009 secrétaire adjoint du Trésor US, où il dirigeant le bureau de stabilité financière (Office of Financial Stability), après avoir travaillé chez Goldman Sachs. Chez Pimco, qu’il rejoint le 14 décembre à Newport Beach, Neel Kashkari contribuera à développer les nouvelles initiatives de la société de gestion en matière d’investissements, dont l’activité actions. Parallèlement, Pimco a recruté Anne Gudefin et Charles Lahr en tant que vice présidents exécutifs et gérants de portefeuilles actions mondiales, qui viennent tous les deux de Mutual Series Group de Franklin Templeton Investments où ils étaient co-gérants du Franklin Mutual Global Discovery Fund. Chez Pimco, à Londres et New York, ils seront chargés d’établir et de gérer des stratégies d’investissement actions mondiales basées sur une approche «deep value».

Selon MutualFundWire.com, DWS Investments Distributors vient de recruter Bob Kendall en tant que responsable de la distribution. Bob Kendall, qui est basé à Chicago et travaille depuis quelques jours dans ses nouvelles fonctions, dépend directement du CEO de DWS Investments Distributors, Mike Woods.Bob Kendall était précédemment responsable de la distribution chez Van Kampen, racheté par Invesco.

Les autorités de régulation américaines ont annoncé vendredi la fermeture de six nouvelles banques locales ou régionales, dont Amtrust Bank, quatrième plus grosse banque du pays à subir ce sort cette année. La Compagnie d’assurance fédérale des dépôts bancaires (FDIC) a annoncé avoir trouvé des repreneurs pour chacun de ces six établissements de dépôts, précise L’Echo.

Spécialisée dans la gestion de portefeuilles, State Street Global Advisors vient d’annoncer, lundi 7 décembre, le lancement de sa stratégie indicielle US Community Investing Index dont l’objectif consiste à répliquer les rendements et caractéristiques de l’indice d’investissement socialement responsable US Community Investing IndexTM (USCII).Ce dernier est composé de plus de 300 sociétés à fortes et moyennes capitalisations «couvrant tous les secteurs ayant prouvé leur succès et leur engagement proactif envers les populations défavorisées dans les communautés rurales et urbaines des Etats-Unis», précise le communiqué de State Street Advisors. L’USCII applique une méthodologie qui évalue positivement la performance de l’investissement et l’engagement social de nombreuses entreprises sur la base de trois critères: l’alignement stratégique, le développement professionnel et la création de richesse, et l’engagement social et le mécénat d’entreprise.

In October, specialist collective investment organisms in Luxembourg posted net subscriptions of EUR13.645bn, according to the most recent statistics from the financial sector surveillance commission (CSSF). With the negative impact of financial markets of EUR9.951bn taken into account, assets have increased by only 0.21% in one month, to EUR1.777528trn. In the past two months, assets have increased 7.92%. The number of collective investment organisms (OPC) and specialised investment funds (FIS) included in the figures totalled 3,454, compared with 3,457 the previous month, while 2,081 entities, representing EUR10,874 sub-funds, have adopted a more classic structure. With the addition of 1,373 entities with traditional structures, a total of 12,247 entities are active on the financial markets.

The Skandia Property Fund has completed its third acquisition in six months, with the acquisition of a 90,000 square metre retail location for GBP21.7m, which the fund is planning to lease to the British home electronics outlet B&Q. The GBP315.8m fund is managed by the subadvisor Nigel Pickup (ING Estate Investment Management) for Skandia Investment Group. Pickup is planning to make further acquisitions in 2010. The three acquisitions made in the past six months represent a total investment of GBP42.75m.

GLG has appointed Sir John Gieve, former vice-governor of the Bank of England, as senior adviser. In his new position, he will advise on strategy related to major macro-economic issues, with particular attention to UK activities led by John White and Jason Mackay (USD2.37bn).

As Funds People announced on 24 September 2009 (see Newsmanagers of that date), Edmond de Rothschild Investment Managers, an asset management affiliate of La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild Banque, has confirmed the opening of a branch office in Spain, located in Madrid. Though EDRIM already has funds licensed for sale on the Spanish market, the management firm is planning to develop its activities serving institutional clients, private banks, and family offices. The branch office will be directed by Sébastien Senegas, who is already head of the Spanish market at the firm’s headquarters in Paris.

The European Commission’s proposal to tighten regulation on hedge funds and private-equity funds could cost asset managers EUR22 billion in one-time charges and almost EUR4 billion in annual charges, according to an impact assessment published Monday by the European Parliament’s directorate general for internal policies and cited by the WSJ. It could slow economic growth in the European Union by 0.2 percentage point a year.

The German private bank Berenberg, whose assets under management total over EUR20bn, will bring together its team of analysts in London. It is planning to relocate its approximately 20 analysts currently located in Hamburg, Paris and Zurich to London in second quarter 2010. As part of the move, Berenberg is planning to reorganize its equities research by sector, with the priority given initially to the health, telecom, IT, consumer, real estate, MedTech, intermediate goods, base materials, construction, and discretionary consumer sectors. By the end of 2010, staff at the investment bank’s London offices will more than double to about 100.

Climate change fund managers will be keeping a close watch on the Copenhagen talks, but are confident their investment approach can survive even the complete failure of the event, says the Financial Times Fund Management. For them, the innovation in clean technologies will continue. “A stable, predictable carbon market is not essential, although it’s a very-very-nice-to-have,” said Ben Cotton, partner at Earth Capital Partners.

After its best quarterly results in ten years, with gains of 7.3% in third quarter, the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund index has earned much more modest gains in October, of 0.13%. Since the beginning of the year, the index is nonetheless showing growth of 15.11%. Many strategies were affected by peak volatility at the end of the month. The VIX (Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index) leapt from 20 to slightly over 30, a level last seen in July, twice as high as the average (16) before 2008. All strategies showed positive results, except equity market neutral, long/short equity and managed futures. The best strategy of the month was dedicated short bias, which earned 4.79%, and which has nonetheless lost 19.27% since the beginning of the year.

At noon on Friday, TMW Pramerica Property Investments GmbH, an affiliate of Pramerica Real Estate International AG, will resume accepting redemption requests for its open-ended real estate fund TMW Immobilien Weltfonds (EUR1.01bn), following twelve and a half months of closure. Asset sales, which were all made at prices in excess of their market value, have allowed the fund to reconstitute adequate liquidity. Degi and Axa have recently been obliged to again close the International and Immoselect real estate funds, which they had expected to be able to reopen. The manager has also announced that on 30 December it will open a new class of shares in the fund for institutional investors. The corresponding shares will require a one-year advance notification for redemption, and an early withdrawal penalty of 10%. The measure aims to protect retail investors (up to EUR0.5m), who will continue to receive daily liquidity.

Many asset-backed securities (ABS) funds disappeared when the financial crisis set in, but the survivors are now doing well, such as W&W Asset Backed Securities, which has earned returns of nearly 160% in the past six months, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. At the end of October, BlackRock released the BSF Fixed Income fund for sale in Germany. The product invests not only in government and corporate bonds, but also in ABS, MBS (mortgage backed securities) and futures market instruments. The formula for ABS funds still on the market has evolved considerably. Managers are now betting primarily on a possibility that heavily undervalued ABS assets will regain value. Gerd Bennewirtz, CEO of the German wealth management firm AJB Fonds Skyline, says that new products have not become less opaque: on the contrary. They include a mixture of old securities with more recent ones in a new package, in the form of Re-Remic (Resecurizations of Real Estate Mortgage Investments Conduits). However, those who may hope to make money on risk premiums related to recycling these toxic securities should have an intimate knowledge of the market.

State Street Global Advisors, a specialist in portfolio management, announced on Monday, 7 October, that it has launched an index-based strategy based on the US Community Investing Index, which will aim to replicate the returns and characteristics of the socially responsible investment (SRI) index US Community Investing IndexTM (USCII). The index is composed of 300 large and midcap firms “in all sectors, which have proven their success and their proactive engagement with disadvantaged rural and urban communities in the United States,” says a statement from State Street Advisors. The USCII fund applies a methodology which positively evaluates the investment performance and social engagement of many businesses on the basis of three criteria: strategic alignment, professional development and creation of wealth, and social engagement and business sponsorship.

The PBP Dinero Fontesoro Corto Plazo and PBP Tesorería funds from the asset management firm of the private bank Banco Popular, and Fonprofit, from Gesprofit, will receive refunds totalling about EUR0.4m from RBS Dexia, which has notified the CNMV of its intentions to repay the funds. The refunds correspond to an overcharge for international depository commissions which were initially levied at the time before Spain transitioned from the Peseta to the Euro. The CNMV has asked depository banks to discontinue the service charge. The regulator has now required that undue charges be reimbursed. A wave of refunds of this type may now be expected. RBC Dexia’s redemption will be paid into the fund, except for subscribers who have redeemed their investment in the fund in the intervening years, who must apply to the asset management firm for a refund of the amount owed to them.

In an interview with Handelsblatt, Eric Helderlé, co-founder of Carmignac Gestion, explains that, since the firm invests worldwide, there is no theoretical limit to its portfolio management capacities, and even assets of EUR100bn are conceivable. This is not a declared objective of the firm, but it is realistic in the next five to ten years. Carmignac has tripled its assets in only one year and escaped the noose during the crisis. Existing products are growing, and the management firm is not planning to launch new products, but will instead rely on current blockbusters. Helderlé also states that the largest markets for Carmignac Gestion are France, Germany and Italy, followed by Spain, Switzerland, Benelux and possibly soon Singapore.

PIMCO, a subsidiary of Allianz, announced on December 7 that it has completed another set of key hires as it expands the range of investment solutions it provides to its clients around the world. Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr will join PIMCO as Executive Vice Presidents and Global Equities Portfolio Managers; and Neel Kashkari will join the firm as a Managing Director and Head of New Investment Initiatives. Ms. Gudefin and Mr. Lahr come to PIMCO from the Mutual Series Group of Franklin Templeton Investments where they were co-Portfolio Managers for the Franklin Mutual Global Discovery Fund. They will be based in the firm’s London and New York offices, respectively. At PIMCO, they will focus on establishing and managing global equity investment strategies based on a “deep value” style approach. Mr. Lahr’s first day at PIMCO is December 7 and Ms. Gudefin will begin in early January 2010. Mr. Kashkari joins PIMCO having served until May 2009 as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, where he led the Office of Financial Stability. He was previously at Goldman Sachs. He will be based in the firm’s Newport Beach office. At PIMCO, he will help direct the firm’s expansion into new investment initiatives, including its equities business. Mr. Kashkari will be a senior member of the firm’s Executive Office and work closely with PIMCO’s portfolio management, business management and client-facing groups. Mr. Kashkari’s first day at PIMCO is December 14.

The US regulatory authorities on Friday announced the closure of six more local and regional banks, including Amtrust Bank, the largest bank to fail this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) has announced that it has found buyers for all of the six banks, L’Echo reports.

“Though it was not extraordinary, 2009 will go down in the history of Barings in France as a good year,” says Benoît du Mesnil du Buisson, president of Barings France SAS. In fact, assets total about EUR850m, compared with EUR550m at the beginning of January, and net subscriptions to funds total about EUR150m. Mandates total about EUR300m. Positive market effects have, naturally, had a positive influence on the French sales arm of the British asset management firm, as the product range largely includes equities funds. In addition, the range is largely oriented to emerging markets, and new inflows have gone primarily to the Global Emerging Markets and China funds, as well as the Eastern Europe product, although the Euroselect Midcap fund also placed highly in the list of best-sellers. In 2009, two emerging markets funds were added to the offerings: the China Select fund (Chinese shares and midcaps listed in Hong Kong) and Asean Frontiers, specialised in trading partners and neighbours of China. Several new products will be imported to France in the relatively near future, including an agriculture fund (which already exists in the United Kingdom, and which is managed by the same team as the commodities fund), and another fund focused on the Middle East and North Africa. In the longer term, du Mesnil du Buisson is planning to release a fund focused on the four major emerging markets (Brasil, Russia, India and China), and an Indian equities fund.

MutualFundWire.com reports that DWS Investments Distributors has recruited Bob Kendall as head of distribution. Kendall, who is based in Chicago and has been active in his new role for several days, will report directly to the CEO of DWS Investments Distributors, Mike Woods. Kendall was previously head of distribution at Van Kampen, which has now been acquired by Invesco.

About 40% of the money flowing into the new generation of Ucits hedge funds are coming from investors outside the European Union, according to George Cadbury, director of Merchant Capital, says the Financial Times Fund Management. Merchant Capital is launching a Dublin-based structure to help smaller hedge fund managers create Ucits-compliant versions of their funds.

Investment Week reports that Insight is planning to modify the investment strategy and policy for its UK Corporate Bond fund, to make use of the possibilities offered by the UCITS III directive to make use of derivative instruments for effective portfolio management and improves expression of investment decisions. The portfolio, managed by Peter Bentley, with about GBP53.4m in assets, will be renamed Sterling corporate Bond Fund, and will give the priority to absolute returns.

In November, for the fifth consecutive month, funds on sale in Italy have posted a positive balance between subscriptions and redemptions, totalling EUR1.27bn in inflows, according to the most recent statistics from Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers. Like last month, inflows were driven by bond funds, which saw EUR1.4bn in net inflows. This category now represents 38% of assets in Italian funds, compared with 20.2% for equities funds, which in November saw inflows of EUR38m. Flexible funds and balanced funds are also in positive territory, with EUR425m and EUR124m in inflows, respectively. Despite five months of net inflows, since the beginning of the year, Italian funds have seen net redemptions of EUR4.55bn. At the end of the month, total assets in the asset management sector were down to EUR422bn, from EUR424.4bn in October. Among asset managers which earned the highest returns in November are BNP Paribas, with EUR448m, Mediolanum with EUR252m, JPMorgan Asset Management with EUR124m, and Crédit Agricole AM and Pioneer, both with EUR118.4m. However, asset management firms which saw the heaviest net outflows were Intesa Sanpaolo (-EUR222.3m) and Allianz (-EUR145.1m).

The board of directors at the German CFA Society has announced the appointment of the asset management specialist Jan Altmann to the newly-created position of managing director. He will work in close partnership with the chairman of the CFA Society, Peter Jakobus. Altmann, 41, previously founded the consulting firm Funds@Work AG, focused on the asset management industry, with a partner in 2002. In 2007, he founded the new firm 4asset-management GmbH, dedicated to asset managers and ETF providers.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Citigroup and Bayerische HypoVereinsbank (HVB, UniCredit group) are studying the possibility of launching “packaged” guaranteed certificates once again within a fund wrapper. Matthias Riechert, head of distribution at Citigroup in Germany, estimates that the new products will use emerging markets equities or commodities as underlying assets, or else combine precious metals, equities and bonds. Since the beginning of this year, certificate funds, which were highly successful in 2007 and 2008, lost their fiscal advantage with the introduction of a flat rate tax, and no new products of this type have been launched since, all the more so that there are traditional equities funds which also use certificates.

Small, independent and specialised management firms are a growing force in asset management, Handelsblatt reports. Some institutional investors have been quick to notice this trend, and are already moving to a multi-boutique structure for their activities, as is the case at BNY Mellon and BNP Paribas Investment Partners. In Germany, Feri Finance has announced that it is interested in acquisitions. The phenomenon also extends to retail managers, such as DJE Kapital, Lingohr & Partner, Lupus Alpha, Flossbach & von Storch, each of which manage assets of less than EUR10bn. The major success story in this area remains Carmignac Gestion, which has brought in a total of EUR12.8bn in net subscriptions since the beginning of the year. Lastly, there has been a trend for managers to launch their own independent businesses. Two of them left Lups alpha to found f+m Financial, a derivatives specialist, while the former head of VCH, Michael Hallacker, is now head of Agathon Capital, which will be refocused on bond management.

Investment Week reports that Insight is planning to modify the investment strategy and policy for its UK Corporate Bond fund, to make use of the possibilities offered by the UCITS III directive to make use of derivative instruments for effective portfolio management and improves expression of investment decisions. The portfolio, managed by Peter Bentley, with about GBP53.4m in assets, will be renamed Sterling corporate Bond Fund, and will give the priority to absolute returns.

The British anti-pollution firm Shanks Group announced on Monday that it had received a “very preliminary and unsolicited” bid from a private equity investor who has not been named to acquire the firm at a price of GBP1.35 per share, which would value the business at about GBP536m. According to financial industry sources, the potential buyer is said to be Carlyle. Shanks Group has said in a market statement “published without the consent of the potential buyer” that, after consultation with its two largest shareholders (Legal & General and Schroders), it estimates that the bid should be raised to at least GBP1.50 per share in order to merit consideration.