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02/12/2009
Fonds

Pimco lance un second ETF actif

Avec l’Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund, Pimco (groupe Allianz Global Investors) a lancé mardi son second ETF à gestion active, après le Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (lire notre dépêche du 18 novembre). Ce produit, dont l’aconyme sur le NYSE sera MUNI, est géré par John Cummings, executive vice president et head du municipal bond desk de Pimco. Comme son nom l’indique, ce nouvel ETF sera focalisé sur les obligations municipales «de grande qualité», d'échéance intermédiaire et dont les revenus sont exemptés de l’impôt fédéral voire, dans certains cas, de l’impôt de l’Etat.
Fonds
02/12/2009

Suppressions d'emplois chez BlackRock-BGI

Mutual Fund Wire rapporte que, selon Bloomberg, BlackRock a notifié au California Employment Development la suppression de 89 emplois à San Francisco d’ici au 8 janvier 2010. San Francisco est la ville où se trouve le siège de Barclays Global Investors (BGI) pour les Etats-Unis.
02/12/2009
Fonds

Les anciens de Old Lane lancent leur hedge fund

Les quatre partenaires fondateurs de l’ancien hedge fund de Citigroup, Old Lane, dont son ancien directeur général Guru Ramakrishnan, ont lancé une société de hedge funds aux Etats-Unis, rapporte le Wall Street Journal. Basée à New York, Meru Capital Group est partie avec 300 millions de dollars de capital, dont plus de 75 millions appartenant aux fondateurs. Il s’agit de l’un des plus gros nouveaux hedge funds de l’année, précise le WSJ.
Fonds
02/12/2009

More net outflows from Spanish funds in November

In November, assets in securities funds on sale in Spain rose by EUR557m, or 0.3% compared with October, to nearly EUR163.56bn. According to the Inverco association of asset management firms, November is the fifth month this year in which assets under management increased. However, the industry saw net redemptions of EUR156m overall, compared with net subscriptions of EUR701m in October. Inverco notes that these are the smallest net outflows since the beginning of the year. In September, net outflows totalled EUR1.2bn. Of the top ten fund managers in the country, only Invercaixa Gestión, Bancsabadell Inversió and Ibercaja Gestión posted net subscriptions in October, of EUR151.85m, EUR127m and EUR11.31m, respectively. The two heaviest net outflows, largely due to guaranteed funds maturing, were at BBVA Asset Management, for EUR448m, and Ahorro Corporación, for EUR52.65m.
02/12/2009

Fund assets still down despite good returns

According to estimates by Ahorro Corporación, assets under management by Spanish funds total EUR169.6bn, which remains 3.8% lower than their levels at the end of 2008, Cinco Días reports. Ahorro Corporación says in a statement that third quarter is “generally unfavourable” for collective management, as banks traditionally make a maximum effort at this time of year to capture savings in insurance, savings accounts, and pension funds. In November, the average performance of equities funds was 0.3%, bringing the total since the beginning of the year to 5.3%, but equities funds gained an average of 32.7%, and diversified funds invested primarily in equities gained 10.5%. Hedge funds posted gains of 6.4%, while real estate funds lost 8.1%.
02/12/2009

Italian managers fall short of their benchmarks

In 2008, Italian managers on average earned performance inferior to their benchmark indices by 1.8 point, according to a study of funds by the Mediobanca research agency, cited by Il Sole - 24 Ore. These are the worst results since 2002. Bond funds were the weakest performers, on average 1.9% behind their benchmarks, compared with 1.1% last year. Money market funds also did poorly, with an average underperformance of 1.7%. The best category was equities funds, which were only 1.5% worse than their benchmarks.
02/12/2009

Job cuts at BlackRock-BGI

Mutual Fund Wire reports that, according to Bloomberg, BlackRock has notified the California Employment Development agency that it will be laying off 89 staff in San Francisco by 8 January 2010. San Francisco is home to the headquarters of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) for the United States.
02/12/2009

LGT Group finalises acquisition of Dresdner Bank (Switzerland)

The purchase of Dresdner Bank (Switzerland) by LGT Group from Commerzbank, announced on 27 July, was completed on 1 December. The new affiliate will be wholly integrated into LGT Bank (Switzerland) SA in February 2010. With this acquisition, LGT (Switzerland) increases its assets under management by CHF9.4bn (as of the end of 2008) to nearly CHF20bn, while assets at LGT Group increase to more than CHF87bn.
02/12/2009

Skandia awards a new mandate to Schroders

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has awarded a GBP150m mandate to Richard Buxton, head of the British equities team at Schroders, following the group’s decision to withdraw the mandate previously entrusted to Origin Asset Management. The mandate covers a portion of the UK equities in the UK Equity Blend Fund, the GBP280m Skandia Diversified Fund, and six Spectrum funds which have grown to asset volumes totalling GBP350m since their launch in April 2008. The UK equities team at Schroders already has three mandates on SIG funds: Skandia Global Best Ideas Fund, Skandia UK Best Ideas Fund, and Skandia Global Dynamic Equity Fund.
02/12/2009

Boutiques will gain popularity in institutional management market

A biannual study by Feri EuroRating Services for 2009 finds that, although German institutional investors continue to have confidence in well-established management firms such as the industry’s big four, DB Advisors (Deutsche Bank), Allianz Global Investors (AGI), Union Investment (co-operative banks) and Deka (savings banks), and in Metzler, they also will put more of their confidence in the future in smaller, sometimes more specialised firms, such as Universal-Investment, a specialist in Master-KAG and white-label products, Aberdeen, or boutiques such as Quoniam AM, Lupus alpha, or Hauck & Aufhäuser. The impact of the crisis has led institutional investors to reduce their exposure to equities to 5.9% of their portfolios, compared with 11.4% in 2007, while the proportion dedicated to bonds has increased to 79.95 from 67.6%. By the end of 2012, institutionals are planning to increase their allocation to funds by 19.7%, and their alternative investments (commodities, currencies, hedge funds and private equity) by 20.6%. However, they are only planning to increase their exposure to bond funds by 0.2%, simply because many of them are planning to undertake bond management directly. The complete study may be ordered directly by telephone, at 00 49 6172-9163121, or from johannes.verheesen@feri.de.
02/12/2009

Macquarie to launch a second South Korea fund

Macquarie Group is preparing to launch another USD1bn South Korean infrastructure fund, says the Financial Times. People familiar with the matter said that the Australian financial group had started to market the vehicle - Macquarie Korea Opportunities Fund II - to institutional investors.
02/12/2009

Equities and hedge funds headed for a positive year end

Hedge Week reports that the consulting firm Hennessee Group projects that equities markets will continue to be positively oriented until the end of the year, which will bring gains for investors in December. Historical data also corroborate this prediction, as equities markets have remained positively oriented in the last year of the month in 70% of years when November was also positive. Hennessee Group also estimates that hedge funds are well-positioned to post good results in 2010 in comparative terms, particularly insofar as the rally will reach its limits and equities markets will no longer show a marked trend.
02/12/2009

Pimco launches a second actively-managed ETF

Pimco (Allianz Global Investors group) on Tuesday launched its second actively-managed ETF funds, following the Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (see Newsmanagers of 18 November). The new product is entitled Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy fund, with the acronym MUNI on NYSE. It is managed by John Cummings, executive vice president and head of the municipal bond deak at Pimco. As its name indicates, the new ETF will focus on municipal bonds “of high quality,” with intermediate maturities. Returns on these bonds are exempt from Federal, and in some cases State taxes.
02/12/2009

New ETF from UBS admitted to trading in Frankfurt

On Tuesday, Deutsche Börse announced that it has admitted the Luxembourg-registered ETF fund UBS-ETF MSCI Japan I (LU0258212462) to trading on the XTF segment of its electronic Xetra platform. The fund is primarily aimed at institutional investors, and charges a management commission of 0.3%. It is the 542nd ETF to be listed in Frankfurt.
02/12/2009

Sarasin interested in BHF

According to financial industry sources, a sale of BHF, an affiliate of Sal. Oppenheim, by its acquirer Deutsche Bank, may take some time, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. Basel-based Banque Sarasin may be one interested buyer.
02/12/2009

State Street adds to alternative investment services

State Street Corporation announced on 1 December that it is expanding its global capacities in services dedicated to alternative investments and fund administration with an agreement to acquire Mourant International Finance Administration (MIFA) through a cash transaction. MIFA, with headquarters on the Channel island of Jersey, nearly USD170bn in assets under administration, and about 650 employees in Dublin, Singapore and New York, is one of the largest providers of fund administration services, particularly for alternative investors such as private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds. The acquisition will make State Street the largest provider of alternative investment services in the world, with USD600bn in assets under administration. The conclusion of the transaction, pending approval from the regulatory authorities and other contractual conditions, is slated for first quarter 2010. State Street estimates that the transaction will have a slightly positive effect on its results for 2010, excluding one-time charges.
02/12/2009

BlackRock completes acquisition of BGI

The acquisition of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) by BlackRock was completed as planned on 1 December. The new firm, with about USD3.2trn in assets, will operate under the BlackRock business name, and will retain the iShares brand name for its ETF products. The purchase cost USD15.2bn instead of USD13.5bn because BlackRock’s stock rose since the deal was agreed upon.BlackRock has also announced the appointment of John Varley, group CEO of Barclays PLC, and Robert E. diamond Jr., president of Barclays PLC, to its board of directors.
01/12/2009

Investor sues Carlyle

National Industries Group, a prominent Kuwaiti conglomerate, is suing the Carlyle Group in a local court, alleging that the US private equity firm misrepresented the safety of Carlyle Capital Corp, a public debt fund which collapsed in March 2008. NIG invested USD50m in the fund, which was marketed as a safe vehicle that would invest largely in triple A mortgage-backed securities
01/12/2009

Gartmore seeking to raise GBP400m

According to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Börsen-Zeitung, Gartmore is planning to issue shares in a price range of 250-330 pence per share at its IPO. This values the firm at about GBP800m, with the asset management firm Hellman & Friedman the largest shareholder, and would mean the IPO would raise about GBP400m.
01/12/2009

Dedicated convertible bond platform in development

Les Echos reports that Constantinos Antoniades, a Goldman Sachs veteran who spent 11 years int he fixed income department of that firm, is preparing to launch a new multilateral trading system dedicated to the over-the-counter convertible bond market. The system, entitled Vega-Chi, is awaiting a license from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the British market regulator, as a multilateral trading facility. The executive director fo Vega-Chi is planning to list 165 bonds on the European market, with a total issue volume of over USD100bn, Nearly 140 clients may be interested in the range on the new platform in Europe, more than half of whom are French entities.
01/12/2009

Cheyne Capital settles with former director

Cheyne Capital, one of the largest hedge funds in Europe, has settled a case with one of its former executives, Jan Lernout, who was suing for more than GBP1m, the Financial Times reports. As a senior partner in the CLO division, Lernout, who joined the firm in June 2007, was entitled to a share in the firm’s profits.
01/12/2009

Assets up at Aberdeen AM

For the fiscal year ending 30 September, Aberdeen has announced an increase in its assets under management to GBP146.2bn, compared with GBP111.1bn one year earlier. The UK asset management firm benefited from its acqusition of Credit Suisse, which represented an increase of GBP35.1bn in AUM. However, it has seen net outflows of GBP7.042 for the year as a whole. Despite the increase in assets, revenues fell 2% to GBP421.9m. Operating profits totalled GBP95.7m, compared with GBP100m in 2008. Operating margins also fell from 23.2% to 22.7%, while pre-tax profits came to GBP85.1m, compared with GBP95.1m last year. Commenting on these results, Roger C. Cornick, chairman of Aberdeen, said the new fiscal year has started well. He says the “survivors” in the asset management industry will be the firms “which can stand out due to their performance above all, but also through diversification of their sources of revenue, through a wide range of products and distribution channels.”
01/12/2009

Gartmore's IPO valuation a little on the conserviative side

Gartmore asset management group has valued its IPO on the London Stock Exchange at between GBP730m and GBP870m, says the Financial Times. The price range values its equity at between 11 and 14 times its forecast earnings of GBP64m in 2010. This compares with valuations of 14 to 16 times next year’s earnings at its listed rivals such as Man Group, Schroders, Bluebay Asset Management, and Henderson.
01/12/2009

UK pension fund surveys managers about cilmate change

Railpen, one of the UK’s biggest pension funds with assets under management of EUR18.7bn, was supposed to send out on Monday detailed questionnaires to probe the extent to which managers mandated to run money for the fund take climate change seriously, says Financial Times Fund Management. Devised in collaboration with HSBC and Linklaters, the 77 questions will be freely available to any other asset owner that wants to quiz its advisers and managers.
01/12/2009

Financial stability council working with 30 major banks and insurers on systemic risks

Les Echos reports that the financial stability council (Conseil de stabilité financière, or CSF) is working with 30 major banks and insurers to draft recovery plans in case of bankruptcy. However, the list, which was published yesterday in the Financial Times (see Newsmanagers of 30 November), is not a complete list of businesses considered at risk by the CSF. They are the participants in an FSB working group on “cross-border crisis management.” “The FSB does not have a list of systemic risks,” the organisation appointed by the G20 to coordinate reform of the financial system stated yesterday.
01/12/2009

Jacques Perold becomes head of asset management at Fidelity

Fidelity Investments has announced that Jacques Perold, COO of asset management since late May, has been appointed asset management chief, replacing Michael Wilens, who in turn is succeeding Scott David as head of the 401(k) retirement fund specialist affiliate as head of workplace investing client management organization. Before returning to Fidelity as head of FMR, Pyramis and Strategic Advisors, Perold was president of Geode Capital Management, beginning from 2001, when the firm was acquired by Fidelity.
01/12/2009

UBS threatens to change countries

The weekly newsmagazine Sonntag reports that last Thursday, the CEO at UBS openly stated in a speech to the Business Club of Zurich that the major banks may have no choice but to move their headquarters out of Switzerland if the Swiss regulatory authorities require them to restructure themselves as holding companies. This would require firms such as UBS to break up into individual national companies in each country, with a firm in command as the central holding company, which would make it possible, in case of need, to save only the Swiss activities, while leaving the national subsidiaries to go bankrupt. This proposed arrangement is favoured by the Swiss national bank, the populist party of Christoph Blocher and Nicholas Hayek. This would mean that foreign affiliates would need to have much higher levels of owners’ equity, which would be very costly for them.

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