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23/09/2009

Lessons of Madoff scandal laid out in report by ALFI

L’Agefi reports that the Luxembourg investment fund association ALFI has published a report on the lessons to take away from the Madoff scandal. It recommends the creation of an investor forum, a revision of its code of conduct, and has modified guidelines for best control procedures applicable to depositaries.
23/09/2009

CIC acquires 15% stake in Noble

The sovereign fund China Investment Corp (CIC) has acquired a stake of about 15% in Noble Group Ltd, a commodity trading group based in Hong Kong and listed in Singapore, which is planning to make new acquisitions in the agricultural sector with fresh capital, for about USD850m, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The operation will involve the issue of 438 million shares, and the acquisition of 135 million shares from the founder, Richard Elman. In 2008, Noble earned revenues of about USD36bn, which fell to USD13.3bn in the first half of 2009. In August, CIC announced that 87.4% of its assets of USD297.5bn were still held in the form of liquidity. The sovereign fund is reported to be in negotiations to acquire a stake in the American firm AES Corp., a builder of power stations.
23/09/2009

Recovery in upmarket real estate

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that professionals estimate that the international high end real estate market, which was paralyzed last year by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, is beginning to recover, thanks to vendors who have become more reasonable with their asking prices, and buyers tempted by the spectacular fall in prices. Fabienne Lenfant, director of the London office of the real estate firm Barnes, says the climate has become considerably warmer since April. “Transactions involving top quality properties have picked back up after six months of net downturn,” she says, as clients have been encouraged by prices that have fallen about 30% since their peaks in summer 2007, and the fall of the British pound (which is now worth only about EUR1.10, compared with EUR1.50 in mid-2007), which has brought in many foreign buyers.
23/09/2009

Allianz calls off plans for New York IPO

The German insurer Allianz announced on 22 September that it will be calling off plans for an initial public offering on the New York stock exchange. Allianz will also be withdrawing from the London, Paris and Milan stock exchanges, as well as the Swiss stock market, the firm says in a statement. The German group “has informed the New York Stock Exchange, the operator of the New York market, of its plans to voluntarily cancel listing of its American Depositary Shares (ADS) and bonds,” according to a statement. Allianz says it plans to concentrate “on the Frankfurt platform, which has stronger liquidity,” as in recent years, “a good deal less than 5% of transactions on Allianz shares have taken place on foreign markets, though about 70% of shares in the firm are held by foreign investors.”
23/09/2009

Risk management to integrate advances in behavioural finance

The recent financial turbulence has shown that the traditional economy does not have an appropriate awareness of the real life of the markets, and the potential impact of the markets on portfolios, according to a study by the Bank of New York Mellon and Investor Analytics. The study, entitled “Tomorrow’s Risk Management: How behavioural economics, cognitive studies and complexity science add up to more than their own sum,” suggests that the lessons of behavioural finance research show that humans develop a high aversion to risk when it creates potential to earn gains, though they develop an immoderate taste for risk when this causes losses. Not only the irrationality of the investor, but also the way in which these behaviours affect the decision-making process, must be taken into account. By integrating these elements, risk management may be completely transformed in the future, and may offer a much more relevant grid for the analysis of portfolio risks.
23/09/2009

Funds with disappointing performance in 2008 struggle to find subscribers

Some prominent mutual funds have made spectacular comebacks this year, says the Wall Street Journal. Fidelity Magellan, Legg Mason Value Trust and Dodge & Cox International Stock are among the funds beating the markets again. But investors aren’t following and many funds still are losing clients.
23/09/2009

Merrill Lynch to launch 12 retail hedge funds

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is to launch 12 more retail hedge funds, on top of the York Event-Driven Ucits Fund it announced yesterday. So reports Ignites Europe.Eric Personne, EMEA head of the fund solutions group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says the bank’s target is to have around 15 funds and at least USD2bn in assets under management from its Ucits-compliant Luxembourg Sicav called Merrill Lynch Investment Solutions.
23/09/2009

Catella RE recruits a head from UBS

Catella Real Estate AG on Tuesday announced the appointment of Michael Denk as head of business development/high net worth. He will be in charge of managing the accounts of financial intermediaries, churches and charities, as well as assisting new high net worth private clients and family offices. He was previuosly director of UBS Deutschland in Munich, where his responsibilities as a certified financial planner (CFP) included the management of real estate assets for retail clients and real estate financing.
23/09/2009

Big opportunities in private banking

In an interview with L’Agefi Switzerland, Joachim H. Strähle, executive president of Banque Sarasin, says organic growth is a first preference, but does not rule out an acquisition (of a firm with assets under management of at least CFH20bn), if an opportunity presents itself. “We see big opportunities in the next three to five years, especially in Asia and the Middle East. Private banking remains fundamentally a growth industry, with enough potential for all actors in the market. Consolidation is probable, even if it takes a while to fully appear. The recovery of the financial markets is helping to defer this process, and is inciting some actors to wait for a better sale price. In the longer term, the process is inevitable, particularly for banks whose private banking operations are not a core activity, who will need to divest in order to repay debts. Whatever happens, the next twelve months will be interesting,” the CEO of the Sarasin group explains.
23/09/2009

EasyETF launches another volley of ten funds on Xetra

BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) on Tuesday listed ten French-registered EasyETF funds covering European, Euro zone and United States businesses and the Euro money market on the XTF segment of the Xetra platform from Deutsche Börse. The XTF segment now lists 496 ETF products. The products added to the listings in Frankfurt include the EasyETF DJ STOXX 600 Double Short (0.60% fees), EURO STOXX 50 Double Short (0.50%), EURO STOXX 50 (A Share), with 0.25% fees, like the EURO STOXX 50 (B Share). The STOXX 50 Europe (A Share) and the STOXX 50 Europe (B Share) carry 0.30% management commissions.
23/09/2009

EFA and BCEE win administration mandate for first Islamic money market fund

The Bank of London and Middle east (BLME) has mandated European Fund Administration S.A. (EFA) and the Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat (BCEE) for administrative and depository banking services for the first European money market fund to comply with Sharia law, which has been launched in Luxembourg. The BLME Umbrella Fund Sicav-SIF, created with capital of more than USD50m, invested in a diversified portfolio of top quality Islamic money market products such as Murabahas (trading contracts), Sukuks (Islamic equivalents of bonds), and Ijaras (rental contracts for assets). In order to serve BLME and respond to the rapid growth of the Islamic finance market, EFA has adapted its accounting and transfer agency tools and has set up a special training program for its dedicated teams.
23/09/2009

Société Générale announces Ambition plan

According to the Financial Times, Société Générale is planning to launch a program next year entitled SG Ambition 2015. The five-year plan will involve significant cost and risk controls, and will privilege private banking activities to the detriment of trading. The plan also aims to reduce errors and unauthorised risk-taking in market activities before they occur, and to turn thepage on the Kerviel scandal.
23/09/2009

Marc Coustet becomes head of distribution at Aliénor Capital

Aliénor Capital on 22 September announced the arrival of Marc Coustet as director of distribution. He will be in charge of relations with professional clients, and particularly with independent financial advisers. Coustet previously had commercial development responsibilities in the automotive industry, particularly at the European industrial vehicle manufacturer ICA International.
23/09/2009

Campbell Soup signs up to UN Global Compact

The United States group Campbell Soup announced on 21 September that it has signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, reinforcing its commitment to social and environmental responsibility at businesses.
23/09/2009

Natixis: Sébastien Clerc appointed head of management for outside clients

Sébastien Clerc has been appointed head of management for outside clients at the Natixis financing and investment bank. Since 2005 he had been global head of project financing. Axel Richer has also joined the management for outside clients team, and will be in charge of management of debt funds. He previously served as deputy head of project financing.
23/09/2009

A female head for French family office association

Josée Sulzer has been elected as president of the AFFO (Association Française du Family Office), an independent association founded in 1901 which includes both single and multi-family family offices, as well as professional partners of the family office professions. Sulzer succeeds Bernard Camblain, who becomes honorary president of the association. Sulzer, who joined the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD), the holding company for the Groupe Dassault, the Dassault family business, in 1994, serves as director of financial affairs and participations, and is also a member of the board at Immobilière Dassault, the group’s publicly-traded real estate firm. She also has several mandates from various asset management and realty management firms. The AFFO, founded in 2001, aims to work on current and future issues in the professionalisation of the family office profession through dedicated commissions, according to a statement.
23/09/2009

Chinese sovereign fund enters capital of Hong Kong Noble group

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that China Investment Corp (CIC), the Chinese sovereign fund, announced on Tuesday, 22 September, that it would invest in Noble, a Hong Kong group specialised in commodities and agriculture. Noble Group, which is listed in Singapore, states that it will sell China Investment Corp Usd850m worth of shares, most of them newly issued. The final agreement must still be approved by the boards of directors at the two entities.
23/09/2009

Changes ahead in capital of Atlas

Funds People relays reports in Negocio that the managing partners of Atlas Capital Gestión, León Benelbas, Pablo Cervera and Moisés Israel, are currently negotiating a sale of their 31% stake in the affiliate of Daiwa Securities, the former Atlas Capital Close Brothers. It remains to be seen whether Julius Baer, currently a minority shareholder, will retain its stake or not.
23/09/2009

La Caixa takes over management of Gas Natural and Fenosa pension funds

Vidacaixa, an affilaite of La Caixa, will become the manager of the pension funds of Gas Natural (EUR56m and 3,300 members) and Unión Fenosa (EUR295m and 3,912 members), Expansión reports. Previously, the funds were managed by BBVA and Santander, respectively. The Catalunian savings bank will become the depositary for the two funds. The transfer will take place with the agreement of the unions, which are strongly represented on the supervisory baords of both funds [Fenosa has been merged into Gas Natural -ed]. The managers concerned in the reorganisation are the three largest managers of pension funds in Spain. In this area, BBVA manages EUR6.55bn, with a market share of 23.22%, while La Caixa manages EUR4.62bn or 16.13%. Santander, which has a highly selective policy, has EUR1.07bn in assets and a market share of 3.73%.
23/09/2009

French government announces puts Swiss banks in the clear

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that the French budget minister, Eric Woerth, on 22 September announced that Swiss banks with operations in France are not the source of a list of 300 French residents with accounts not declared to the French tax authorities, in a denial of previous reports in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which claimed that France had obtained the names of the 3000 French taxpayers from the French affiliates of three Swiss banks, including Credit Suisse.
23/09/2009

French government signs tax agreement with Andorra

The French Budget minister, Eric Woerth, on 22 September singed an agreement to share taxation information with Andorra. ‘The signing of this agreement allows each of the parties involved to realise their ambition to deploy international principles of transparency and exchange of information,” according to a statement. The signature of the agreement between France and Andorra follows an internal Andorran move to comply with transparency principles in early September.
23/09/2009

European regulator: Mervyn King a favourite for number two post on board

Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, has emerged as the leading candidate to become deputy of a European board tracking the stability of financial institutions and coordinating risk supervision by national bank regulators, the Financial Times reports. The new body will be chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet.
23/09/2009

Fidelity completes rationalisation of multi-management product range

Investment Week reports that Fidelity is in the process of concluding a rationalisation of its multi-management product range, with the closure of the FundsNetwork PortfolioManager line of products. The group will retain the PortfolioManager Balanced fund, which will be renamed MultiManager Balanced. Fidelity is also planning to merge the MM Distribution fund (GBP29m) into the MM Income (GBP124m). Fidelity had previously announced that it would be closing its entire offshore multi-manager product range by the end of 2009, and that it would be reducing the number of onshore funds from five to three.
23/09/2009

Absolute Return Partners launches an energy fund

In response to growing demand on the part of investors for uncorrelated and liquid alternative management products, Absolute Return Partners (ARP) will launch an energy fund entitled NEAS Power Fund on 1 October. The fund will trade futures, forwards and options on carbon emissions certificates and complex energy commodities (carbon, gas, and petrol). More than 95% of the shares traded will be listed on the two main Europeanenergy trading markets, Nordpool and EEX. NE Capital Management, an affiliate of the Danish energy specialist firm Nordjysk Elhandel (NEAS), will be responsible, as sub-investment manager, for the day-to-day management of the portfolio.
22/09/2009

Santander Brasil va lever entre 4,3 et 4,9 milliards d’euros en Bourse

Selon Les Echos, Santander va lever de 4,3 à 4,9 milliards d’euros à l’occasion de l’introduction en Bourse de sa filaile brésilienne à hauteur de 16,21%. Le prix estimé de chaque action sera entre 22 et 25 reals brésiliens, pour un montant total de l’opération oscillant entre 11,55 et 13,125 milliards de reals, soit entre 4,34 et 4,93 milliards d’euros environ).
22/09/2009
Fonds

Des syndicats réclament un audit éthique de Nestlé

Dans un courrier adressé au gouvernement norvégien, les trois syndicats norvégiens et le syndicat international des industries agroalimentaires (IUF) demandent conjointement au ministère des Finances de faire examiner les pratiques de Nestlé par le Conseil d'éthique du fonds de pension Government Pension Fund – Global, rapport IPE. Ils estiment que le refus du groupe suisse d’inclure les salaires dans la négociation collective en Indonésie et en Inde constituent une violation évidente des principes de l’Organisation internationale du travail (OIT ou ILO en anglais) et des principes éthiques du fonds. Nestlé est par importance la deuxième ligne du fonds de pension.
Fonds
22/09/2009

Christophe Bavière prend la direction générale d'Allianz GI France

Christophe Bavière accède à la fonction de directeur général d’Allianz Global Investors France et devient membre du board d’Allianz Global Investors Europe. Par ailleurs, il conserve ses responsabilités de président du directoire d’AGF Private Equity. Agé de 45 ans, il succède à Géraud Brac de La Perrière, 54 ans, qui cède son poste mais demeure président d’Allianz Global Investors France.
22/09/2009

Mandarine Gestion accroit ses encours

Selon un communiqué de Mandarine Gestion, la boutique créée par Marc Renaud, a réussi à accumuler 700 millions d’euros d’encours depuis son lancement il y a 18 mois. La société était partie avec 250 millions d’euros. D’ici quelques mois, Mandarine Gestion prévoit le lancement d’un fonds actions « Small et middle Cap Europe » qui sera géré par Joëlle Morlet Selmer pour profiter des opportunités de la classe d’actifs. La socité de gestion nourrit également des projets de développement hors des frontières. Outre la commercialisation des produits en Allemagne qui a débuté via à la présence d’Andreas Krebs, responsable de la distribution en Allemagne, Mandarine gestion compte mettre en place prochainement des objectifs extra-financiers afin d'être «en phase avec les fondamentaux de l’économie réelle au travers de produits transparents et performants.»

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