The concept of socially responsible investment (SRI) is dying, according to Jon Williams, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, cited by IPE.com. He admits, though, that negative and positive screening models and engagement may continue to interest some investors. He feels that the future is in sub-themes focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, such as water, climate change, and forestry, which are showing strong performance.

On Wednesday, Rabobank, the World Wildlife Fund, the technical university of Delph and Wageningen University announced the launch of the Dutch Greentech Fund, which will invest in Dutch green startup firms exploiting innovative technologies and processes throughout the basic manufacturing chain through to finished products in the areas of agructulture, food, water, air, and bio-energies. Investment will be limited to EUR2.5m per business, on the condition that it must be equivalent to a minority stake in the business. At launch, assets in the fund will be EUR21m, but they are expected to increase to EUR40m from early 2010. The portfolio will include 15 to 25 positions.

The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has admitted that it has paid USD36m to an affiliate of UBS and to Pacific Alternative Asset Management for two years even though their hedge fund advisory contracts had expired, the Wall Street Journal reports. It appears that Paamco, at least, continued to provide services during the period in question. Kurt Silberstein, head of the hedge fund program at CalPERS, has been temporarily suspended from his duties.

The central management firm of the Icelandic savings banks, DekaBank, has announced that it is filing suit against the Icelandic government, accusing it of treating foreign lenders less well than local investors, the Börsen-Zeitung reports. The Frankfurt-based firm is suing for a reimbursement of a figure “in the hundreds of millions of Euros.” Deka’s exposure to Iceland totals about EUR500m.

According to the proposals of MEP Jean-Paul Gauzès, the European Parliament is recommending that the AIFM directive should apply to all hedge funds and private equity funds, regardless of their size, and that funds should be required to adhere to certain regulatory ratios for all their activities, Handelsblatt reports. The European MP also calls for stricter rules for hedge funds than for private equity funds. However, he does not want to deprive hedge funds of the ability to short-sell, and refuses to require private equity funds to disclose sensitive information about the firms in their portfolios. And he does not demand that venture capitalists undergo regular ratings. Lastly, Gauzès supports proposals by the European Commission that the European passport be restricted to funds domiciled in the European Union, though he would leave member states free to accept funds from outside the Union within their own borders.

Hedge fund and private equity managers have given a lukewarm and cautious reception to proposed amendments to the AIFM directive, the Financial Times reports. They are concerned in particular about the proposal that the European Commission would have the power to impose limits to the levels of leverage a manger may be allowed to use in exceptional circumstances.

David Houston, former manager of the European small caps fund at Bank Vontobel, has joined Euronova Asset management, the firm he co-founded in 2000, Citywire reports. He previously managed the Vontobel Fund European M&S Cap at Berenberg Bank.

Deutsche Börse announced on Wednesday that it has added seven ETFs denominated in Euros, seven in US dollars, and two in pounds Sterling to trading on the XTF segment of its Xetra electronic platform. These funds belong to the Xmtch range from Credit Suisse (see Newsmanagers of 18 November). This brings the total number of funds listed on XTF to 541. Of the new products, 15 are registered in Ireland, and one in Luxembourg. They are: Name of fund ISIN code Currency Management commission Xmtch (IE) on MSCI UK Large Cap IE00B3VWKZ07 GBP 0.36% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI UK Small Cap IE00B3VWLG82 GBP 0.42% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI USA Large Cap IE00B3VWLJ14 USD 0.22% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI USA Small Cap IE00B3VWM098 USD 0.30% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Japan Large Cap IE00B3VWM213 EUR 0.36% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Japan Small Cap IE00B3VWMK93 EUR 0.42% Xmtch (IE) on MSCI EMU Small Cap IE00B3VWMM18 EUR 0.42% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx USD Govt 1-3 IE00B3VWN179 USD 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx USD Govt 3-7 IE00B3VWN393 USD 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx USD Govt 7-10 IE00B3VWN518 USD 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx EUR Govt 1-3 IE00B3VTMJ91 EUR 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx EUR Govt 3-7 IE00B3VTML14 EUR 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx EUR Govt 7-10 IE00B3VTN290 EUR 0.12% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx USD Inflation Linked IE00B3VTPS97 USD 0.16% Xmtch (IE) on iBoxx EUR Inflation Linked IE00B3VTQ640 EUR 0.16% Xmtch (Lux) on MSCI Emerging Markets LU0254097446 USD 0.45%

Deka Immobilien has acquired a 9,000 square metre office and commercial building in Hamburg from Movesta Development and Momeni Projektentwicklung for an undisclosed amount. The tenants of the building in clude the management firms Nordacapital and Natixis Capital Partners. The property will be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa (EUR10.32bn in assets as of the end of October).

Fidelity International announced on Thursday morning that Anthony Bolton will take over management of a portfolio of Chinese and international equities likely to profit from growth in China. The new fund may be on sale by the end of first quarter 2010. The star manager retired at the end of 2007 from day-to-day management to become the “mentor” and strategist for Fidelity, a management firm which opened its Hong Kong offices in 1981, and which has been present in continental China since 2004.

According to statistics from the Investment Company Institute (ICI), assets in mutual funds in the United States as of the end of October totalled USD10.6883trn, USD144bn or 1.3% less than one month earlier. However, this result remains USD1.0871trn or 11.3% higher than the USD9.6012trn recorded at the and of December 2008. In October, long-term funds posted net subscriptions of USD40.88bn, compared with USD47.87bn in September. But equities funds saw net redemptions of USD7.08bn, compared with USD10.38bn the previous month, due to the fact that funds which invest primarily in the United States saw net outflows of USD14.83bn, compared with USD11.33bnin September. Hybrid and bond funds in October saw respective net inflows of Usd2.94bn and USD45.02bn. But money market funds saw further outflows of USD71.8bn in October, following USD126.91bn in outflows in September.

Robert Frey, who was managing director of the Nova Fund, and then of Renaissance Technologies, between 1992 and 2004, will launch a multi-strategy quantitative fund, to be entitled Frey Quantitative Strategies (FQS) Multi-Strategy fund. He plans to start out with about USD350m in assets, and generate performance of 10-15%. The IT system is operated partly in the United States (Frey is a professor of applied mathematics and statistics at Stony Brook University in New York state), and partly by a team of IT professionals based in London, India, Ireland, Sweden, and France.

With the Market Vectors Poland ETF, which charges 76 basis points, Van Eck Global is launching its 23rd ETF product. The fund will have the acronym PLND on the Arca electronic trading platform from NYSE. The new product will replicate the Poland Market Vectors (total return) index, calculated by the German firm 4assetmanagement GmbH. The indicator includes 26 stocks, of which 40.3% are in the financial sector, 13.6% in energies, and 11% industrials. Small and midcaps represent 60% of the total. Van Eck’s assets in ETFs totalled about USD10bn as of 31 October.

On Wednesday, Munich Re announced that it has acquired a block of shares in the primary insurance group Ergo from a fund management operation of HypoVereinsbank (HVB, UniCredit group), meaning that its stake in the firm now amounts to over 95%. This means that the AGM to be held on 12 May 2010 will vote on a proposition to squeeze out minority shareholders. After that procedure, Munich Re will become the sole shareholder in the management firm MEAG, a joint venture from Munich Re and Ergo, which as of the end of September managed EUR191bn, of which EUR175bn were on behalf of Munich Re, EUR8bn in mandates, and EUR2bn in open-ended funds.

There is a saying that women are less enclined to risk than men in financial investments. But, according to a study by the Berlin-based economic research agency DIW, this attitude has more to do with the fact that women often have less income and wealth than men than it does with women being more prudent. Under equal financial conditions, men and women show the same propensity to make high-risk investments, says Nataliya Barasinka, co-author of the study, which covered 8,000 households, in half of which the woman was the determining decision-maker. DIW estimates that, in order to develop custom financial products for women, banks would do better to design product ranges that correspond to differing levels of wealth.

“In an environment of limited growth and low returns, investors in 2010 are seeking sustainable and high growth as well as attractive returns,” said Eric Siegloff, head of strategy and tactical asset allocation for ING IM, at a press conference in London. In this environment, “the importance of returns has led us to prefer large caps, high-quality businesses, and high-yield strategies for equities markets, and products with high ratings on bond markets,” he added. “Globally, we expect 2010 to be a good year for equities, in the wake of regular profit growth,” said Patrick Moonen, senior equities strategist at ING IM. ING IM is thus particularly positive on emerging markets equities, as these offer high and sustainable growth. Moonen argues that emerging markets should no longer be considered a simple “bet” on global growth, “but rather as a region unto itself which offers unique opportunities.” ING IM predicts high growth in profits in emerging countries, as well as high returns in terms of returns on owners’ equity (ROE) and operating margins, due to the solidity of balance sheets in a region which also has benefited from rising commodity prices. Of course, against this background, countries which are net exporters of commodities will have an advantage in 2010, while net importers will see an increase in their costs. On bond markets, Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, head for the economy and bond strategy at ING IM, recommends a diversification of risks within portfolios in order to concentrate on the relative solidity of balance sheets. “We are therefore overweighting corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and government bonds (from emerging countries). We are also predicting a slight increase in volatility in 2010. As a result, we are preferring corporate bonds with higher ratings, and we are seeking diversified exposure to healthy macroeconomic fundamentals on emerging markets,” he concludes.

ING IM has finalized a reorganization of its teams, begun in March this year. “We have abandoned organization by asses classes in favour of a system of teams centred around strategies, each in a separate ‘boutique,’ but integrated within the group,” explains Jan Straatman, CIO of ING IM, at a press conference in London. The 14 European teams are now in place, and their heads have been appointed, he adds, and a similar reorganization will be undertaken internationally in the near future. The various boutiques all have their head offices in the Netherlands, but local specialists will be based abroad, where local presence is indispensable. This multi-boutique structure will give asset management teams more freedom in equities management in terms of the investment process, which will allow them to generate more performance, and “each team will have its own goals to achieve,” says Straatman. “These multi-boutiques will function with quasi-entrepreneurial flexibility and liberty, without having the same operational risk, as they will be backed by the infrastructure and means of a large group,” says the chief investment officer. The various internal boutiques will also be able to rely on a global team of 30 equities and fixed income analysts. ING Investment Management (ING IM), which manages EUR400m worldwide, and which now includes the asset management activities of ING in a single unit alongside real estate asset management, will publish combined annual results from 2010. Within the group, ING will continue its internal reorganization program, which began in 2006, and while will eventually lead to a separation of banking and insurance activities, including asset management. “We are still aiming for a return to our roots, which would allow us to better respond to the needs of our clients,” says Michel van Eck, the new CEO for Europe since 23 November. The group’s total restructuring will be completed by the end of 2013, and “until then, we are analysing all possible options,” van Eck conlcludes.

The global index of investor confidence calculated by State Street Global Markets in partnership with Harvard University fell 7.6 points in November to 100.8 points, from 108.4 in October. The confidence of investors in Asia fell most sharply, as the regional index fell 4.1 points to 91.2. Other regions show slightly more enthusiasm. North American investors’ appetite for risk has remained virtually unchanged, rising slightly from 101.1 to 102.2 points. European investors were slightly less optimistic, as their confidence level rose 2.7 points to 105.5 points. Ken Froot, one of the people responsible for the index, commented that “the aggregate data conceal disparities between individual countries and regions. This month, for example, institutional investors radically reduced their positions on some markets, such as Australia, while they have continued to increase their positions on emerging markets. Overall, investors are somewhat cautious about the current level of valuations, and they would like to see more evidence of economic activity and real global demand, particularly in the United States, before they increase their positions on equities further.”

La comparaison avec la période postérieure à la bulle TMT plaide pour une accalmie des volatilités réalisées et implicites

La BCE est visiblement de plus en plus mal à l’aise avec le degré d’accommodation de ses mesures non conventionnelles d’assouplissement du crédit. Les interventions verbales préparant le marché à leur extinction se multiplient. Le risque est donc plus grand aujourd’hui d’une «sortie» prématurée plutôt que tardive. Avec des conséquences pourtant bien plus dommageables pour l’économie réelle.

Des créanciers internationaux sont concernés par le gel des échéances de Dubaï World

On Tuesday, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) announced the recruitment of James Taylor as investment director, government bonds. Taylor, who was previously head of fixed income portfolios at Gulf International Bank UK, will report to Graeme Caughey, head of government bonds. SWIP has made several recruitments in the past few weeks, including Robert Webb as investment director, corporate bonds, who joins from Aviva Investors, where he was head of credit portfolio management. Andrew Tunks has been appointed director of fixed income at SWIP. He was previously head of fixed income and global macro.

The Worldwide Securities Services division of JP Morgan has announced the acquisition from the Australian firm ANZ of its administration services activities, including access to over 100 clients, with assets under administration of AUD99bn.

The Swiss bank Mirabaud has signed an agreement to buy a minority stake in venture Finanzas, a Spanish firm specialised in brokerage, analysis, management and sales of investment funds. The investment, whose total amount has not been disclosed, allows the Swiss firm a point of entry into the Spanish market. “Spain is an important European market for our strategic activities,” says Thierry Fauchier-Magnan, partner and chairman of the executive board at Mirabaud. “Our development priorities for the next five years are domestic private clients, institutionals, brokerage and corporate finance, and product distribution,” he adds. The minority investment is only a first step, as Mirabaud is planning to increase its stake so as to become a majority stakeholder by mid-2010. The goal is to integrate the Venture Finanzas product range (which consists of several funds and Sicav products). “Our aim is for Venture’s activities to be conducted under the Mirabaud brand name by the middle of next year,” says Antonio Palma, managing partner and member of the executive board at the Swiss firm.

As part of its investment strategy for 2010, unveiled yesterday at a press conference, Allianz Global Investors predicted that several positive influences will affect equities markets in 2010, including the effects of stimulus packages, and continued restocking. Current valuations are not excessive, says Allianz GI, and several investment themes are interesting: exposure to emerging markets, the environment and green technologies, and research into returns from value strategies. Shares in the luxuries, spirits, rail, energy, and financial services sectors also provide Europe with exposure to emerging markets. In the environmental theme, Allianz GI observes that ‘green’ investments will occupy a significant place in government stimulus packages. As an illustration, “green tech” represents 15% of total investment, while the amounts allocated by the Chinese stimulus plan to these areas is high (USD221bn out of USD267bn in Asia-Pacific). Lastly, in the area of returns, Allianz GI observes that “the services sector has ambitious investment plans.” Meanwhile, the telecom sector offers high returns, but not growth, while health and agribusiness offer a good combination of yield and returns.

Raj Rajaratnam, president and founder of the alternative management firm Galleon, has rejected accusations by the SEC that he has been involved in insider trading of shares in Intel, AMD, Google, and Hilton Hotels (among others), Handelsblatt reports. In addition, the Sri Lankan manager has filed a lawsuit against the US regulatory authority in which he accuses them of spying on him by illegal means.

Asian Investor reports that Tom Daniel, a specialist in electronic trading previously at the Australian Macquarie group, last week joined CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets as head of electronic trading, in Hong Kong, replacing Bruce Benson. His mission will be to deploy the algorithmic trading platform for the region.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) on Tuesday announced a campaign to promote good governance and improve the management of pension funds. As part of this campaign, in the next few months, the regulator will provide updated directives on internal controls, and publish an up-to-date document on the knowledge which trustees should have. Trustees will be offered an e-learning resource covering topics in risk management. The campaign will also include a range of consultations on proposed new legislation on record keeping and updated rules for the liquidation of pension funds.

The Spanish Inverco association of management firms on Tuesday unveiled its first “savings barometer,” a survey undertaken between 5 and 22 October of 2,500 savings investors, of whom only 1,900 said they were able to save, Cinco Días reports. 24% thus consider that they have no way in their current circumstances to set aside savings. 71.7% of respondents say that liquidity is the most important characteristic in a financial product, above security, transparency, and performance. Returns are the most important quality only for investors aged under 40 and are the least important aspect for those aged over 55.