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19/08/2009

Le marché immobilier américain déçoit à nouveau

Selon la Tribune, les mises en chantier aux Etats-Unis ont diminué de 1% à 581.000 en rythme annualisé contre en moyenne 600.000 anticipées. Celles de juin ont été révisées à 587.000 contre 582.000 annoncé initialement. Par rapport à juillet 2008, les mises en chantier accusent une chute de 37,7% tandis que les nouveaux permis de construire reculent de 1,8% sur un mois à 560.000 unités. Sur un an, leur baisse atteint 39,4%. Le nombre de logements en cours de construction est également tombé à un plus bas historique de 609.000 le mois dernier.
19/08/2009

ETFs: simple and understandable products are the key

In the area of ETFs, Jean-Frédéric Nussbaumer, head of equities trading execution at HSBC Private Bank, recommends sticking with simple and understandable products, Le Temps reports. “[T]he concept of an ETF, which works well for major indexes such as the NASDAQ or the S&P 500 in the United States or the SMI in Switzerland, does not perform as well for more exotic indexes. The costs can vary from one to four times their ordinary levels, depending on the categories,” the Swiss newspaper notes. Christophe Aletti, head of structured products at UBP in Geneva, estimates that many users are not aware of the complexity of the structures behind some products. “Information is not as clear and transparent as it should be,” he claims in Le Temps.
19/08/2009

Sovereign funds may become active investors

According to a State Street report cited by L’Agefi, “sovereign funds may become more active investors in the future.” They may also “eventually catch up with the most activist institutional investors or alternative funds.” State Street, which counts 37 sovereign funds with assets of over USD1bn, also states that “falling sources of revenues are leading these funds to revise their allocation policies and to avoid higher-risk investments.”
19/08/2009

AGI does away with 109 funds

Allianz Global Investors will merge 53 funds of its range, representing EUR830m in assets, while 20 other funds, with assets of EUR205m, will be closed, Das Investment reports. In addition, AGI will abandon 36 white-label funds.
19/08/2009

ETFs: The winners and losers of the year

In one year, db x-trackers, ETFlab, Comstage, Credit Suisse XMTCH and ZKB have all gained market share from Barclays Global Investors, Easy ETF, Lyxor and State Street, in the European ETF market, where asssets under management total EUR123.65bn, according to statistics from Lipper (Thomson Reuters) as of 30 June 2009. In percentage points, the strongest gains were at db x-trackers, which went from 13.89% of the market in terms of assets to 17.28%, between June 2008 and June 2009. With a market share of 34.29% (compared with 36.93% one year earlier), the uncontested leader in the European ETF market remains Barclays Global Investors, which has recently been acquired by BlackRock, and its iShares brand. In second quarter 2009, its assets increased by 8.5% to EUR42.38bn, largely due to products related to commodities. In terms of launches of new products, Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management (CASAM) was the most active firm in first half, with 29 new ETFs launched, ahead of ETFlab (20 products launched) and db x-trackers (14). In total, 53 new products were released in second quarter, bringing the number of new funds to 101 in the first six months of the year. France was the preferred market for new ETFs on European markets, with 40% of the new products released domiciled there. This is due to the large number of products launched by French providers. In terms of performance, only 1 of the 550 equities ETFs analysed between April and June showed a loss. The best performers were in emerging markets such as India and Turkey.
19/08/2009

Fortis Investments doubles assets in India

In its latest update for journalists, Fortis Investments (BNP Paribas groupe) says that it crossed the USD2 billion mark for assets under management in India on August 11, 2009, thus registering a growth of over 100% in its AUM since December 2008. «The growth in the AUM can be attributed to the consistent performance of its fixed income funds that are among the best performing funds in their respective categories».
19/08/2009

Blackstone bets on rebound for London property market

Blackstone has entered exclusive talks with British Land to buy a 50% stake in Broadgate, the office complex at the centre of the City in London, the Financial Times reports. The private equity firm views Broadgate as a bet that the London property market will rebound, according to sources familiar with the matter.
19/08/2009

Lazard recrute chez Goldman Sachs

Dans un communiqué, la banque Lazard a annoncé mardi avoir recruté Tom Tuft, 62 ans, un spécialiste des introductions en Bourse de Goldman Sachs. Il occupera désormais la fonction de directeur dans les activités de «Global Capital Markets Advisory» de la banque. A partir de novembre prochain, il sera également vice-président de la banque d’investissement aux Etats-Unis.
19/08/2009

USD7m per year for AIG chief

La Tribune reports that Robert Benmosche, the new head of AIG, will make USD7m (EUR5m) per year for his efforts to bring about a recovery at the US insurance firm. He will earn USD3m in cash, and USD4m in ordinary shares (excluding bonuses).
19/08/2009

Investors are hungry for emerging market debt

No less than USD79bn of bonds in US dollars were issued by borrowers in emerging markets (governments and corporations) in the course of the first half of the year, which, according to a press release from the asset management firm F&C Investments, represents a record for the past two years. Better yet, at a time when the volume of issues for emerging market debt normally slows in summer, issues of new government debt rose this year, to a total of USD9bn in July. It is true that these issues were a subject of strong interest on the part of investors, in the hopes that “bailout plans, falling interest rates, and USD750bn in government assistance pledged by the IMF will allow countries in difficulty to overcome the global recession,” F&C says. As the markets have risen, spreads for emerging market bonds compared with US Treasury bonds have tightened by 245bp since the end of December. Argentinian government bonds have been some of the ones that outperformed the market most impressively, with a spread compared with US Treasury bonds of 1,965 basis points in November 2008, and of 916 basis points as of 27 July.
19/08/2009

Other European banks named in US tax evasion investigation

The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that wealthy US citizens using a tax-evasion amnesty program have identified about 10 Swiss and European banks where their accounts are held. This opens new fronts in the Internal Revenue Service’s investigation. Among the banks named in the voluntary declarations are Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Union Bancaire Privée, the WSJ reveals. The disclosures don’t signal wrongdoing at the banks.
19/08/2009

Regulators issue warning over leveraged ETFs

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published an investor alert, warning that leveraged and inverse ETFs are thighly complex financial products» that «can turn into a minefield for buy and hold investors,» the WSJ reports.
19/08/2009

Convertibles arbitrage performs well in July

In July, virtually all hedge fund strategies monitored by Edhec (Edhec Alternative Indexes) have posted gains. Among the winning strategies, convertibles arbitrage stands out in the summer month, with gains of 6.56%. Edhec notes that this strategy did well off of widening credit spreads and the remarkable performance of convertible bonds, and that it represents the best monthly result for the category in the history of the Edhec indexes. Since the beginning of the year, the strategy has gained 36.6%. “Distressed securities” have also profited from wide spreads, at +3.39%. Emerging markets strategies are also making a comeback, with gains of 4.39% in July, and of 22.5% since the beginning of the year. Long/short equity, for its part, has earned 2.85%, which remains lower than the gains on the S&P 500. The only two strategies in the red for July are CTA Global and dedicated short bias, with losses of 0.19% and 5.85%. These are also the only two strategies in negative territory since the beginning of the year (-3.2% and -13.3%).
18/08/2009

Use of equities as long-term investments on the wane

The Belgian newspaper L’Echo, citing De Tijd, reports that long-term investors are increasingly being replaced by investors seeking quick returns on stock markets. For example, on the Brussels stock exchange, investors hold the top shares for about 1.5 to 3 years. Twenty years ago, Belgian shares remained in portfolios for an average of 5 years. This trend can also be observed in other countries. In the United States, according to a study by Société Générale, shares in the New York Stock Exchange remain in the portfolio of investors for an average of 9 months, compared with an average of 10 years in the 1940s.
18/08/2009

Enquête autour d'une acquisition de RBS

Selon le journal les Echos qui reprend une annonce de Royal Bank of Scotland, le régulateur du secteur financier britannique (FSA) a entamé une enquête sur le rachat en 2007 de la banque néerlandaise ABN Amro par la banque écossaise. RBS, via un consortium incluant Santander et Fortis, avait acquis l'établissement pour 70 milliards d’euros. En difficulté financière en partie du fait de cette transaction, ajoute le quotidien, RBS avait été contraint l’année dernière d’abandonner au gouvernement la majorité des ses parts. En contrepartie, la banque a été renflouée à hauteur de 20 milliards de livres sterling (23,16 milliards d’euros).
18/08/2009

RBS va vendre sa filiale de gestion d'actifs

Selon Financial News, qui cite des sources du secteur, Royal Bank of Scotland est sur le point de mettre en vente son activité de gestion d’actifs, RBS Asset Management. Cette dernière, spécialisée dans les fonds de fonds, conseillait des actifs représentant 50 milliards de dollars en fin d’année dernière.
18/08/2009

Nominations chez Dexia

Selon les Echos, Daniel Ivanier est nommé directeur des opérations de Dexia Crédit Local et membre du comité de direction. Il est remplacé par Guy Cools en tant que responsable des activités de Dexia North America. Bruno Accou est nommé responsable des succursales de Dexia Crédit Local et de Dexia Banque Belgique au Royaume-Uni.
18/08/2009

3i va céder des investissements européens

Selon le Financial Times, 3i est en négociations exclusives pour vendre un portefeuille de 36 investissements européens de capital risque à un consortium dirigé par Coller Capital et HarbourVest Partners pour environ 100 millions de livres. L’année dernière, 3i a décidé de renoncer aux investissements dans les start-ups en phase de création, son activité la moins performante depuis l’éclatement de la bulle technologique.
18/08/2009

Objectif clients très fortunés pour ABN Amro

Selon le quotidien suisse Le Temps, la banque ABN AMRO a nommé Nicolas Geissmann, responsable de Private Wealth Management (PWM), afin qu’il gère de Genève et pour la Suisse le segment des «Ultra High Net Worth Individuals» (UHNWI), les plus riches clients de l’établissement. Il s’agit de développer le segment des clients possèdant au moins 25 millions de francs d’actifs à investir. En Suisse, le poids financier de la clientèle PWM - composée de particuliers et/ou des entreprises - est d’environ 5,5 milliards de francs.
18/08/2009

BBVA veut grandir aux Etats-Unis

En début d’année, la présidente de la Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. a eu la visite discrète de Francisco González, le PDG de BBVA, croit savoir le Wall Street Journal. Le dirigeant voulait être sûr que la FDIC penserait à lui lorsqu’elle vendrait les actifs des banques US en difficulté, affirment des personnes proches du dossier. Francisco González n’a fait aucun commentaire sur cette réunion, mais a déclaré que BBVA est intéressé par des acquisitions tactiques dans le sud des Etats-Unis.
18/08/2009
Fonds

Les fonds concentrés font mieux avec moins

Les meilleurs fonds actions ont souvent peu de lignes en portefeuille, constate le Wall Street Journal, dans un article consacré aux fonds concentrés. En moyenne, les fonds actions détiennent 172 lignes, selon Morningstar, alors que les fonds concentrés ont en général seulement 25 positions. Les gérants de fonds concentrés ont peu de marge d’erreur, ce qui les oblige à mettre l’accent sur l’analyse des entreprises. Et pour se protéger davantage, ils achètent les titres avec une forte décote.
Fonds
18/08/2009
Fonds

Les hedge funds commencent à refuser de l'argent

Quatre grands gestionnaires de hedge funds ont fermé les fonds phares qu’ils avaient rouverts en début d’année, rapporte Financial News. Il s’agit de Nevsky Capital, Lansdowne Partners, Tudor Investment Corporation et SAC Capital.
Fonds
18/08/2009

Un répit pour le groupe CIT

Selon la Tribune, les créanciers du groupe américain CIT ont apporté 59,81 % de titres à l’offre de conversion de 1 milliard de dollars de dette obligataire arrivant à échéance lundi 17 aooût. CIT évite ainsi la faillite.
18/08/2009

Le fonds souverain chinois vise le cinéma

Selon le quotidien The Times de lundi 17 août, le fonds souverain China Investment Corporation (CIC) - qui représente 200 milliards de dollars - compte investir dans la production audiovisuelle occidentale et asiatique d’après une source proche du fonds d’Etat. Ces investissements pourraient donner au gouvernement chinois une part directe dans un grand nombre de réalisations, des drames sud-coréens ou des jeux télévisés japonais jusqu’aux grandes productions hollywoodiennes et les séries. Toujours selon des sources proches du fonds souverain, des pourparlers auraient été entamés entre CIC et deux groupes de private equity américain très impliqués dans les medias au centre desquels il est question d’une société de production de films à Hollywood.
18/08/2009

Capital increase at Swedbank

The Swedish bank Swedbank has announced a capital increase of SEK15bn, or EUR1.45bn, which has been 100% subscribed. The capital will go to strengthen the bank’s balance sheet.
18/08/2009

Private equity investments down

According to a report published by IFSL (International Financial Services London), cited by L’Agefi, private equity investments were down 80% worldwide, to USD24bn, in the first six months of 2009, their worst performance in twelve years. Less than USD100bn were raised in the first half of 2009.
18/08/2009

L'AIMA se bat contre la directive hedge funds

Le secteur des hedge funds est en première ligne pour tenter de convaincre les autorités européennes de réexaminer le projet de directive sur la gestion alternative (Alternative Investment Fund Managers). Mais selon Andrew Baker, le directeur général de l’Association de la gestion alternative (Aima), qui s’exprime dans Hedge Week, «il est vital que d’autres acteurs économiques, allant des membres du secteur de l’immobilier aux administrateurs des fonds de pension, rallient cette campagne afin d’empêcher qu’une loi rédigée à la hâte n’entrave la compétitivité économique de l’Europe».

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