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14/09/2009

Agnelli family may acquire Intesa asset management business

The Agnelli family may buy the asset management unit of Intesa Sanapolo, the Financial Times reports. Exor, the investment company which manages the family’s assets, including its 30.5% stake in Fiat, announced on Friday that an acquisition of Banca Fideuram was an option currently under study, though any deal was still a long way off. Intesa is seeking to sell Fideuram, which manages assets of EUR42bn.
14/09/2009

BlackRock to create a trading platform

BlackRock, which will soon become the world’s largest asset manager, with USD3,000bn under management after its acquisition of BGI, is preparing to create its own global trading platform, the Financial Times reveals, citing an internal memo. Minder Cheng has been appointed to oversee the platform. If some clients are selling a security and others are buying, BlackRock can cross these trades internally, without going through Wall Street. The service would be free of charge.
14/09/2009

High net worth clients take profits on equity markets

In second quarter, the Ibex index of the Spanish stock market gained 25.24%. And high net worth investors such as Alicia Koplowitz, Ram Bhavnani and the Del Pino family took the occasion to reduce the proportion of Spanish equities in the portfolios of their 20 Sicav funds, Cinco Días reports. As of the end of June, equities represent only EUR163.4m, 20% less than at the end of March, despite gains on equities markets between the beginning of April and the end of June. Money withdrawn from equities markets has been invested either in cash or in bonds.
14/09/2009

Cosmen and CVC granted permission to conduct due diligence on National Express accounts

The board of National Express has authorised the Austrian Cosmen family and the private equity investor CVC Capital Partners to undertake due diligence on the books at the business, and the British merger and acquisition authority has extended the deadline for bids from Friday 11 September until 6:00 PM on 25 September, Cinco Días reports. In that time period, the consortium will be allowed to decide whether or not to maintain its bid of GBP5 per share for the firm. If the operation is successful, Cosmen and CVC are planning to sell off some of the assets of National Express to Stagecoach.
14/09/2009

GBP4m incentive package to bring back Candover

Malcolm Fallen, the new CEO of Candover Investments, has been granted a GBP4m incentive package to bring about a recovery at the private equity firm, the Sunday Times reports. He was previously CEO of the telecommunications operator KCOM, and began in his new position last week. He will be in charge of negotiating a solution for Candover’s 2008 fund, which will probably be closed, having been unable to meet a EUR1bn pledge in March. The partners who pledged EUR2bn for the fund will probably be allowed not to fulfil their commitments without a penalty.
14/09/2009

Simon Ellis becomes retail director at LGIM

The former head of multi-management at Fidelity between 2006 and 2009 is joining Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) as managing director for retail activities, Investment Week reports.
14/09/2009

Deutsche Bank hoping to take over all of Sal. Oppenheim by 2011

Deutsche Bank and Sal. Oppenheim on Sunday declined to comment on an article in Focus magazine which claims that the former firm is planning to acquire an initial stake of 45% in Sal. Oppenheim, and then to buy up the remainder of the private bank by 2011, Die Welt am Sonntag reports. Sal. Oppenheim is now valued at EUR1.5bn-EUR1.8bn, down from the EUR2bn it was recently valued at. Sal. Oppenheim is reportedly also in exclusive negotiations to sell its investment banking operations to the Italian firm Mediobanca. Focus reports that the division also interests Barclays and Macquarie.
14/09/2009

Fund closures on the rise

As many as 250 funds disappeared in 2007 and 2008 in Spain. This year, as calm returns to the markets, the number of products on offer has increased a little bit, but the trend only turned around in June, Expansión reports. According to the most recent statistics from the Inverco association of management firms, 207 funds closed down between the end of May and the end of June, and the total number of funds fell to 2,746. In one month, as many funds were closed as in all of 2008. And this trend appears set to continue: according to Ahorro Corporación, the number of funds on sale fell to 2,702 in July, and rose back to 2,709 in August. The only category of products which has not been affected by this phenomenon is short-term bonds, a traditional refuge for Spanish investors in times of turbulence: the number of funds of this type has increased by 9.6% since the beginning of the year.
14/09/2009

Second record in a row for ETF assets

Assets under management in ETFs in Europe increased by USD9.1bn in August, to USD192.1bn. This is their second consecutive all-time record according to Barclays Global Investors (BGI). Since the beginning of the year, assets have increased by 34.7%, and the number of funds on offer has increased by 18.8%, with 141 new ETFs, to a total of 751 products, listed 1,889 times on 19 stock markets. iShares (BGI) remains the largest actor by far in this market, with 158 ETFs and assets of USD76.32bn as of the end of August, which represents a market share of 39.7%. Lyxor Asset Management (Société Générale) is in second place, with 100 funds, assets of USD39.71bn, and a 20.7% market share, and then db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank), with 105 ETFs and assets of USD31.19bn, and a market share of 16.2%. BGI adds that, according to Lipper FMI, net inflows in first half to ETFs domiciled in Europe have totalled USD15.2bn.
14/09/2009

Analysts' portfolios outperform funds

Stock picks from brokers can help investors to outperform most funds, a GLG study relayed by the Financial Times finds. On the basis of a list of daily recommendations by European brokers over the past four years, the hedge fund firm shows that a portfolio which followed analysts’ tips and bought the shares in question over a three-months period would have outperformed funds by 75%.
14/09/2009

Harvard and Yale endowments show heavy losses

In the fiscal year ending 30 June, assets in the Harvard and Yale endowments fell respectively by USD36.9bn to USD26bn, and by USD22.9bn to USD16bn, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. Harvard estimates losses on its financial market operations at 27%, and the endowment has decided to maintain a liquidity reserve of 2% of its assets in future, rather than borrowing to augment its securities portfolio. Other well-known university endowments are also showing heavy losses, including the endowments of Stanford, Princeton, and MIT.
14/09/2009

Larger pension funds have withstood the shocks of 2008 better

According to a survey by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt and the specialised journal Pensions & Investments of 300 major pension funds in 30 countries, published on 7 September, the 20 largest pension funds on the planet saw a decline in their assets of 4.1% to USD4.2bn in 2008, compared with a 13% decline, to USD10.4bn, for 300 pension institutions overall. Watson Wyatt suggests that “due to their size, the very large pension funds have an advantage in terms of governance and the decision-making process, which allows them to participate in new investment ideas,” Le Temps reports.
14/09/2009

Alternext sets out to rescue credit-strapped businesses

In a report submitted Monday to the French minister of the economy, Christine Lagarde, and obtained by L’Agefi, there are proposals for 30 administrative, fiscal, and market measures, intended to remove obstacles standing in the way of issuers and make Alternext attractive once again for SMBs and businesses, the newspaper reports. The objective of the measures is to ease the difficulties for businesses having difficulty obtaining lending from banks.
14/09/2009

Robert Helm becomes head of retail distribution at MEAG

Fondsprofessionell reports that Gerhard Rosenbauer will be quitting his position on the managing board at the asset management firm MEAG Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (MEAG), where he was head of retail distribution, for personal reasons on 30 September. He will be replaced on 1 October by Robert Helm, who is currently director of distribution to institutional investors.
14/09/2009

Principal GI seeks acquisitions in Europe

Principal Global Investors is seeking to acquire a European boutique specialised in global bonds, Ignites Europe reports. Jim McCaughan, CEO of Principal, would like to expand the business through acquisitions. And the market which interests him most is London.
14/09/2009

The Hartford reorganizes distribution

The Hartford Financial Services Group has announced the creation of a new structure, Hartford Life Distributors (HLD), which will handle sales and distribution for its investment and retirement products. This will result in a centralisation of internal and external sales units, marketing and support teams, and groups for strategic client assistance and the development of mutual funds, 401 (K) products and university savings programs (529). These activities represented USD25bn in deposits in the 12 months to 30 June, and currently employ a sales force of 240 focused on these areas. HLD will be headed by Kevin Connor, executive vice president, who was previously head of marketing, client assistance and development for investment and retirement products.
14/09/2009

Nils Bolmstrand takes over as head of SIG

Skandia Investment Group (SIG, about GBP50bn in assets) on Friday announced the appointment of Nils Bomstrand, who was previously head of products, distribution and international relations with managers, as VEO, effective immediately. The appointment follows the resignation of Jamie McLeod, who founded Skandia Investment Management seven years ago. SIG was created in October 2007.
14/09/2009
Fonds

Les fondations d'Harvard et de Yale subissent de fortes pertes

Durant l’exercice au 30 juin, le patrimoine des fondations des universités de Harvard et de Yale ont chuté respectivement de 36,9 milliards à 26 milliards de dollars et de 22,9 milliards à 16 milliards, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Harvard chiffre la perte de ses opérations sur les marchés financiers à 27 % et la fondation a décidé de conserver désormais une réserve de liquidité de 2 % du patrimoine, au lieu de s’endetter pour augmenter son portefeuille d’investissements. D’autres fondations d’universités renommées ont subi de fortes pertes, comme celles de Stanford, de Princeton et du MIT.
Fonds
14/09/2009

Morgan Stanley épinglé par le Nyse

La banque américaine a été condamnée à une amende de 200 000 dollars par le New York Stock Exchange pour avoir réalisé, depuis près de quatre ans, des opérations de courtage pour le compte de ses clients, sans les en informer.
14/09/2009

Pas optimiste Moody's à propos de la santé des banques américaines

La Tribune rapporte que, selon l’agence de notation Moody’s, la santé des banques américaines pour le proche avenir n’est pas radieuse, il s’en faut. D’où sa perspective « négative » sur les établissements notés. Les conséquences macroéconomiques entraînant une très forte hausse des créances douteuses et des dépréciations pèsent davantage, trimestre après trimestre, et se traduit par une détérioration significative de la qualité des bilans. Sur la seconde moitié de l’année et en 2010, il faut encore s’attendre à 345 milliards de dollars de pertes selon l’agence, précise le quotidien.
14/09/2009

De nouveaux acteurs dans le prime brokerage

Nombre de nouveaux acteurs se lancent dans les services aux hedge funds, constate le Wall Street Journal. Parmi eux figurent notamment Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, FBR Capital Markets, Jefferies & Co, Merlin Securities. Ils cherchent à attirer les hedge funds de taille moyenne.
14/09/2009

BlackRock va lancer une plate-forme de trading

BlackRock, qui va devenir la plus grosse société de gestion de la planète avec 3 000 milliards de dollars d’encours grâce à l’acquisition de BGI, s’apprête à créer sa propre plate-forme mondiale de trading, révèle le Financial Times, citant une note interne. Minder Cheng a été nommé pour s’en occuper. Ainsi, si certains clients vendent un titre et que d’autres l’achètent, BlackRock pourra croiser ces ordres en interne sans passer par Wall Street. Ce service est censé être gratuit.
11/09/2009

Michelin removes from GCX index

The Hanover stock exchange announced on Thursday that Michelin shares will be removed on 21 September from the Global Challenges Index (GCX), a sustainable development index launched in September 2007 with the assistance of the Munich-based agency oekom research. The statement says that environmental organisations accuse the French manufacturer of violating human rights during extensions of its rubber plantations in Nigeria. Michelin will be replaced in the index by the US firm EMC. The composition of the GCX index may be consulted online at the address http://www.gcindex.com/de/index/indexstruktur/unternehmens_uebersicht.p…
11/09/2009

RBC Dexia prepares for staff adjustments

An ongoing “global realignment of the operational model” of the group and a “redeployment of operational and IT activities to Kuala Lumpur” may affect 110 positions out of 1,600 at RBC Dexia Luxembourg. This impact is before negotiations with representatives of labour, and a statement adds that since the creation of RBC Dexia in 2006, more than 600 jobs have been created locally in Luxembourg. The move to Malaysia may involve as many as 50 jobs.

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