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08/09/2009

Impax plans to launch Asian green investment trust

Impax Asian Environmental Markets will be the new investment trust form Impax Asset Management (USD1.8bn in assets), which the provider plans to launch in partnership with the Hong Kong-based management firm Ajia Partners (USD2bn). As its name indicates, the new product will focus on businesses in the environmental sector based in the Asia-Pacific region. The fund will be managed by Bruce Jenkyn-Jones, managing director at Impax, and David Li at Ajia Partners. It will be listed on the main market segment of the London Stock Exchange.
08/09/2009

Real I.S. Acquires Unilever headquarters

The German asset management firm Real I.S. (a joint venture of the German savings banks and BayernLB) has bought the headquarters of Unilever NV in Rotterdam for EUR86m, from the pension funds BPF Bouw and Progress. The property, with over 24,000 square metres of space, includes two buildings (the smaller, at 2,400 square metres, is leased to Tio Teach BV). The property will be added to the portfolio of the institutional real estate fund BGV Bayerische Grundvermögen III SICAV FIS.
08/09/2009

A good month for LSE in August

La Tribune reports that the stock market operator LSE has seen an increase of 11% to its daily trading volumes for its British and Italian market activities, compared with the previous month, with EUR7.2bn traded.
08/09/2009

SAM cited as exemplary for integration of ESG criteria

In its “Report on Progress 2009,” the United Nations organisation that oversees the Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) cites the method of integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues at the Swiss asset management firm SAM Asset Management (Robeco group) as “best practice,” and as an example which the 275 signatories of the Principles (153 asset management firms and 123 asset owners) may follow to improve their scores in this area.
08/09/2009

Assets in major pension funds back at 2006 levels

The obsession of major asset management firms with risk management and wealth preservation is not accidental. Assets at the 300 largest pension funds on the planet last year fell back to their 2006 levels, according to data published by Pensions & Investments and Watson Wyatt. Assets in these funds contracted by about 13% last year, to USD10.4trn, a decline of about USD1.5trn in one year. However, cumulative annual growth rates over a five-year period remain at about 10%. The study also finds that the United States remains the largest global market, with 41% of assets in pension funds (USD4.7trn), but that its market share peaked at 53% in 2003. The weak US dollar and the rise of sovereign funds are identified as the causes of this development. Japan takes second place, with a market share of 19% (up from 14% in 2007), largely due to the dominant position of the Japanese sovereign fund, the Government Pension Investment Fund, which follows a highly conservative allocation policy and has topped the rankings for several years, with assets as of the end of 2008 of nearly USD1.3trn. With continued growth in its assets over the past five years, the Asia-Pacific region has overtaken Europe for the first time. Its assets totalled about USD3trn, compared with USD2.5trn for Europe. In 2008, the Asia-Pacific region was the only one to gain volume, with 11% growth. Coming out of the turbulence in previous years, the top 20 funds did better than all other funds: they saw a decline of only 4% to their assets, compared with a fall of 14% for other funds. In the past five years, the top 20 funds grew by 14%, compared with 7% for other funds in the sample.
08/09/2009

Goldman Sachs becomes largest shareholder in Eurotunnel

Les Echos reports that Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners has become the largest shareholder in the firm that operates the channel tunnel, with 21.2% of capital, far outstripping the M & G fund (Prudential group), which held a 7% stake at the beginning of the year. Small shareholders retain about 30% of the firm. This increase in Goldman’s stake is the expected consequence of a restructuring plan, a capital increase of EUR800m launched in March 2008 which allowed the firm to pay off part of its debts. Redeemable bonds were issued as part of the Eurotunnel safeguard plan. The operation was undertaken through bonds convertible into equities, of which 82% were subscribed to by two funds from Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, which then decided, one and a half years later, to convert its bonds into shares.
08/09/2009

HDF Finance overhauls management

Christine du Fretay, the widow of Gilles du Fretay, has been appointed chairwoman of the board at HDF Finance, while Gilles Guérin on 1 September became CEO and vice-chairman of the board. Since 2007, Guérin has been CEO of Alphasimplex, an alternative management firm founded by Andrew Lo, which specialises in overlay management and market risk control. Christian de Juniac, who in June accepted a position as chairman of the board at HDF Finance, replacing Gilles du Fretay (who died on 7 August), has been promoted to vice president of HDF Group SAS, the holding company which includes all HDF’s affiliates and participations.
08/09/2009

Allegiant AM and PNC Capital Advisors to merge

Nine months after the acquisition of its parent company, National City Corporation, by PNC Financial, Allegiant Asset Management will merge with the management firm PNC Capital Advisors INC, to form a new entity to be known as PNC Capital Advisors LLC. Following the merger, John Abunassar, chairman of Allegiant, will leave the firm. Kevin McCreadie, CEO of PNC Capital, will direct the new entity, which will have a total of USD37bn in assets under management.
07/09/2009

Jean-Paul Gauzès appointed as reported for AIFM directive

At a meeting of the economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Parliament held on 1 September, MEP Jean-Paul Gauzès was appointed as reporter for a project to create a directive on alternative management (AIFM), and went on to create an informal working group to assist the reporter. The international alternative management association (AIMA) welcomed the appointment in a statement, and noted that several elements in the Commission’s draft directive (leverage, depositories, and marketing) need to be fundamentally reconsidered.
07/09/2009

Dutch pension funds call for revision of draft AIFM directive

Ten of the largest pension funds in the Netherlands have sent a letter to the European commissioner of internal markets, Charlie McCreevy, calling on him to modify the proposed directive on alternative management, efinancialnews reports. “In its current form, the global impact of the project will lead to a reduction in investment opportunities, increased costs, and reduced returns,” say APG, PGGM, Shell Asset Management Company, Mn Services, and two professional associations in the Netherlands, adding that if the proposed regulations should be revised, they would like for their point of view to be taken into account. Under the draft regulations in their current form, the letter from the pension funds claims, it would be impossible for European pension funds to invest in hedge funds, private equity funds, or other alternative funds managed by non-European firms. “Initial indications already show that many non-European alternative managers will simply stop distributing their funds to European investors.” According to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), cited by the Dutch pension funds, the cost of the directive for pension schemes would total GBP25-35bn.
07/09/2009

Delta Lloyd releases an SMB fund

TheNetherlands-based asset management firm Delta Lloyd Asset Management hasobtained permission to release the Luxembourg-registered fund DeltaLloyd L European Participation fund, launched on 1 April, in Germany.The fund invests in up to 35 small and mid-sized businesses whichappear in the portfolios of the Delta Lloyd Europees DeelnemingenFonds and Delta Deelnemingen Fonds, with the proportion ofNetherlands shares limited to 25%. One of the characteristics of theproduct is that it takes stakes of at least 5% in the businesses inthe portfolio.CharacteristicsNameDelta Lloyd L European Participation FundISIN codeLU0408576568Front-end fee5.00%Management fee1.25%Performance commission10% of performance exceeding the REX 1 index
07/09/2009

Target-date funds losing their appeal

J.P. Morgan Asset Management at the beginning of the month closed five target date funds with horizons up to 2035, as their respective assets totalled between EUR6m and EUR7m, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reoprts. DWS (Deutsche Bank) will close its three “Zukunftsfonds” on 27 November; in total, these funds had less than EUR10m under management. Marc Lederer, an investment advisor at Hesse + Partner, says the phenomenon is a result of the fact that Germans are rushing to buy products which benefit from government assistance, but target-date funds are not subsidized. Werner Hedrich (Morningstar) claims that the largest problem for target-date funds is distribution, as advisors at banks have nothing to gain from promoting these products: they earn a commission, and then the client, who does not need any other products, generates no further commissions. Thomas Wiesemann, CEO of Allianz Global Investors (AGI), says that there are no plans to close target-date funds, although the largest of these funds at the management firm has only EUR7m in assets. The same is true at Deka (savings banks), where Steffen Selbach points out that low volumes are not a problem, as these funds are coupled to other products. Fidelity, which imported the concept of the target-date fund to Germany, is the largest promoter of these funds, with assets of EUR50m or more.
07/09/2009

Nomura becomes a Primary Dealer in India

Nomura Fixed Income Securities Private Ltd announced on 4 September that it has been granted a license as a Primary Dealer by the Reserve Bank of India. The license will allow Nomura to significantly enlarge its presence on the Indian market.
07/09/2009

Rathbones develops dedicated services for IFAs

Rathbones is launching a new dedicated service for independent wealth management advisors who wish to outsource all or part of their clients’ asset management. The service will be available to groups of clients with GBP25,000 or more to invest. Advisors will have access to two new multi-asset class funds of funds. These vehicles include a multi-asset class strategic growth portfolio which aims to return inflation plus 5%, and a total return portfolio which aims to return the money market rate plus 2%. Rathbones, which will unveil its new product line in September, currently manages about GBP10bn in discretionary management for 150 managers.
07/09/2009

Lloyds want to regain some elbow room

Lloyds Banking Group strives to regain some independence from the British governement, according to Agefi. Actually, the bank is trying to reduce its participation in the Asset Protection Scheme (APS) which would cost it some GBP15.6bn in fees under the form of shares, in order to insure GBP260bn of non performing loans.
07/09/2009

CalPERS board member under investigation

Charles “Chuck” Valdes, a longtime board member at CalPERS (USD194bn), is under investigation for taking campaign contributions from executives at a placement agent that works for CalPERS, says Pensions & Investments reports.
07/09/2009

Inflows on the rise

In August, investment funds sold in Italy attracted EUR2.83bn in investments, compared with EUR2.07bn in July, which has reduced net redemptions since the beginning of the year to EUR9.48bn, according to statistics from Assogestioni. Assets are up 1.25%, to EUR418.08bn as of the end of August, compared with EUR412.9bn one year previously, while market effects accounted for EUR3.11bn arithmetically, and represented one and a half times total subscriptions. Aside from hedge funds, which underwent net outflows of EUR127m, all the major categories of funds saw inflows in August. However, since the beginning of the year, only equities and money market funds have posted net subscriptions, totalling EUR1.22bn and EUR1.93bn, respectively. Overall, Italian-registered funds posted net outflows of EUR1.46bn in August, and net outflows of EUR11.4bn in the first eight months of the year, while foreign-registered funds saw inflows of EUR1.37bn last month, and EUR1.92bn since the beginning of the year.
07/09/2009

AIG sells off less than 20% of asset management operations

On Saturday, American International Group (AIG) announced that it has sold a part of its investment advisory and asset management business for about USD500m to Bridge Partners, an affiliate of Pacific Century Group (PCG) of Hong Kong. Of this sale price, AIG will receive USD300m in cash at the conclusion of the transaction. The activities being sold are located in 32 countries and represent assets of about USD88.7bn, or 15.6% of the total, managed for both institutional and retail investors, using a variety of strategies including private equity, funds of hedge funds, publicly traded equities, and bonds. Win J Neuger will remain CEO of the firm, and the management team will remain in place. AIG will retain its in-house investment operation, which represents assets of about USD480bn, under the direction of senior vice president and CIO Monika M. Machon.
07/09/2009

BarCap eyes opening itself to outside investors

The Financial Times reports that Barclays Capital (BarCap) plans to team up with sovereign wealth funds to buy natural resources assets, which means that the bank would be opening its natural resource investment unit to outside investors for the first time.Over the last four years, Barclays has been investing USD1bn in this unit and is in advanced talks to get a USD400m investment from south Korea’s Natural Resource Fund. Barclays aims to build a multibillion dollar fund that would buy assets in Latin America, Africa and Asia valued at USD50-$100m before reselling them to other natural resource groups in three to five years.
07/09/2009

Two appointments at OppenheimerFunds

OppenheimerFunds on 2 September announced the arrival of William Carey as head of distribution and Martha Willis as Chief Marketing Officer. Carey will begin in his new job on 21 September, while Willis will start on 1 October. The firm is also planning to develop its distribution strategy and continue to improve the circulation of information within the firm, and to restructure its distribution and marketing activities for the various professions. Carey previously worked at Bank of America, while Willis was at Fidelity.
07/09/2009

First funds denominated in Chinese renminbi launched

An affiliate of the Swiss private bank Bank of Cina (Suisse) SA, BOC (Suisse) Fund Management SA, has obtained permission from the Swiss market supervisory authority FINMA (Autorité fédérale de surveillance des marchés) to launch 24 classes of shares in its BOCS Fund, some of which will be denominated in Chinese renminbi. This complete range of Swiss-registered funds includes 12 sub-funds with 24 classes of shares, half of which are invested in equities and the other half in bonds. Each of the 12 sub-funds is available in two difference currencies, with the major innovation being that most of them offer a class of shares denominated in Chinese renminbi, the first time in the world that such a product has been offered, a statement from the firm points out. Chinese investors will be able to invest in international financial markets without exposing themselves to currency risks, and international investors will be able to subscribe to regulated investment products registered in Switzerland providing strategic exposure to the Chinese currency and to Chinese markets. Another major innovation, according to the statement, is that the BOCS Fund brings the Bank of China group expertise and products in total return styles of management, which come as additions to the group’s range of tracker and benchmarked products.
07/09/2009

Jupiter appoints a sales director for Asia

Jupiter Asset Management has appointed David Conway to the newly-created position of Sales Director, Asia Pacific. He joins Jupiter in October from Royal Skandia, where he worked in a number of roles over several years in Asia. In his new position at Jupiter, David will principally be responsible for developing Jupiter’s business with private banks, life companies and key wealth management institutions in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as building on the relationships already established in Asia.
07/09/2009

Bids roll in for Asian AIG operations

L’Agefi reports that a source familiar with the matter revealed to Reuters on Saturday, 5 September, that Chinatrust Financial, the largest issuer of credit cards in Taiwan, has offered USD2.4bn for Taiwan Nan Shan Life, an affiliate of AIG, outstripping rival bids including one from Primus Financial.
07/09/2009

Roadmap for banking sector regulations takes form at G20 meeting

At a meeting of G20 finance ministers this Saturday in London, the ministers did not go so far as to back all the proposals being touted by France, L’Agefi reports. However, a consensus began to take form over regulations of the banking sector. The Council’s report on financial stability will present proposals to the G20 on policy related to banking sector bonuses, the newspaper states. The United States would like to see increased owners’ equity requirements for financial establishments.
07/09/2009

IOSCO publishes final recommendations on securitisations and CDS markets

Despite the complexity of the issues related to the markets, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has concluded that regulation could play a role in some areas on securitisation and CDS markets, in order to contribute to a return of investor confidence in these markets. The recommendations of the IOSCO working group on unregulated products and financial markets encourages initiatives on the part of the industry to improve the functioning of the securitisation and CDS markets but admits that these initiatives would be limited. The IOCV points out in a statement that neither the industry’s own initiatives nor the discipline of the market prevented the malfunctions on these markets which served to exacerbate the financial crisis. “As a result, these initiatives will need to be completed and supported, if necessary, by regulation.”
07/09/2009

Bridgewater favourite hedge fund firm of institutionals

A survey of institutional investors by AR Magazine has found that Bridgewater Associates (USD37bn in assets) is perceived as the best large hedge fund manager (of the “billion dollar club”) on the basis of six criteria: performance, infrastructure, “alignment of interests,” independent surveillance, liquidity, and transparency. The next four asset management firms in the rankings are Tudor Investment, Paulson & Company (USD27.2bn), Highbridge Capital Management and Davidson Kempner Advisors.
07/09/2009

Banks restrict access to external management providers

In the current recession, many banks are putting the emphasis on in-house funds, in an attempt to keep all possible earnings from selling funds in-house, the Financial Times reports. This is leading asset management firms without a distribution network to revise their policies. Investec Asset Management has decided to concentrate its sales efforts on fund of fund managers and banks which are looking for sub-advisors in asset classes in which they cannot hope to earn top returns. Banks are now expecting their partners to provide not only long-term performance, but also the ability to explain all the characteristics of the product to potential clients, particularly in terms of risk and volatility. Paradoxically, this approach may work to the advantage of managers with an institutional mindset, rather than specialists in retail products.
07/09/2009

Investor participation in general assemblies increases

Voting turnout by investors at European companies’ annual general meetings has risen above 50% for the first time in the year to the end of July, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing figures from Manifest. In 2007, the percentage was only 40%. This trend is thought to be related to the financial crisis.
07/09/2009

Rathbones développe ses services dédiés à destination des CGP

Rathbones lance un nouveau service dédié à destination des conseillers en gestion de patrimoine qui souhaitent externaliser tout ou partie de la gestion des actifs de leurs clientèle. Ce service sera disponible pour les groupes de clients disposant de 25.000 livres ou plus à investir. Les conseillers auront ainsi accès à deux nouveaux fonds de fonds multi classe d’actifs. Ces véhicules incluent un portefeuille strategic growth multi classe d’actifs visant l’inflation plus 5% et un portefeuille total return visant le taux du marché monétaire plus 2%.Rathbones, qui va présenter sa nouvelle offre courant septembre, gère actuellement quelque 10 milliards de livres par le biais de sa gestion discrétionnaire pour le compte de 150 gérants.

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