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16/07/2009

Syz achète 50 % de la société de gestion de N+1

Le groupe financier suisse Syz & Co achète 50 % de la société de gestion du groupe espagnol N+1 pour créer une coentreprise dont l’encours se situe à 245 millions d’euros et qui gère 20 Sicav ou mandats et deux fonds d’investissement. De plus, rapporte Cinco Días, la nouvelle entité, N+1 SYZ Gestión, conseille deux sociétés de gestion de hedge funds.
16/07/2009

Fibanc-Mediolanum sous-traite la gestion de certains fonds à Trea Capital

Comme le pratique déjà sa maison-mère italienne Mediolanum, l’espagnol Fibanc-Mediolanum va externaliser la gestion d’une bonne partie de ses fonds de droit local (550 millions d’euros d’encours) auprès de Tre Capital Partners, qui appartient à son président-fondateur Carlos Tusquets, rapporte ABC relayé par Funds People. Actuellement, ces fonds sont gérés par GesFibanc, qui va transférer six de ses collaborateurs à Trea (dont l'équipe de gestion compte neuf personnes). GesFibanc conservera sa marque et les fonds leur dénomination actuelle.
16/07/2009
Fonds

Groupama fait enregistrer deux fonds ISR

Groupama Asset Management fait enregistrer auprès de la CNMV deux fonds d’investissement socialement responsable, l’Euro Capital Durable (actions zone euro) et Credit Euro ISR (obligations investment grade), rapporte Funds People.
Fonds
16/07/2009

Oversupply of ETF funds

Currently, there are 657 ETF funds on sale in Europe, and this number is expected to reach 1,000 by next year. There is an anarchic proliferation of products underway, and the heads of iShares Germany (Dirk Klee) and ETFlab (Andreas Fehrenbach) are concerned that the market will suffer the same fate as the certificate market, which imploded after the spectacular collapse of Lehman, Die Welt reports. Thorsten Michalik, head of x-trackers (Deutsche Bank) does not share this pessimism, due to the fact that certificates were sold by advisors at banks, who earned high commissions on them. This is not the case for ETFs, which advisors are thus not promoting. Retail investors who buy into the products themselves will not go in search of incomprehensible products such as the DJ EuroStoxx 50 BuyWrite ETF, which combines an investment in the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 with the sale of a call on the same index.Die Welt also reports that db x-trackers is planning to extend its range of ETFs to 200 products next year, up from 113 currently.
16/07/2009

Heavy inflows in May

According to Lipper FMI, net subscriptions for European funds reached EUR32.1bn in May, which is the highest inflow since October 2007, Handelsblatt reports. The main contributors to these inflows have been equity funds, with EUR16.2bn, and corporate bond funds with EUR8.9bn, their best mark over the last four years.Diana Mackay, who is head of Lipper FMI, expects net inflows to reach EUR80-100bn this year, but warns that any bad news could jeopardize this projection.
16/07/2009

Hedge funds gained ground in June

The Credit Suisse/Tremont index of more than 5,000 hedge funds worldwide shows performance in June of 0.43%, following gains of 4.06% the previous month. This brings performance in first half to 7.18%.Only two strategies remain in the red for January-June: dedicated short bias, with losses of 10.81%, and managed futures, which have lost 7.43%. Meanwhile, four strategies show gains of over 10% in the first ten months of the year: fixed income arbitrage, with returns of 11.82%, multi-strategies (12.29%), emerging markets (13.21%), and convertible arbitrage (23.95%).Oliver Schupp, chairman of Credit Suisse Index, says 87% of gains realised since the beginning of the year were made in second quarter.
16/07/2009

British pension funds heavily in the red

Nearly 90% (to be precise, 88%) of 7,400 defined-benefit pension programs in the UK are in the red, at a time when the markets continue to be under pressure. According to the most recent statistics from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the coverage deficit for British pension funds at the end of June totalled GBP200.1bn (compared with GBP179.3bn at the end of May), while in June 2007, the balance of assets against liabilities was positive by more than GBP100bn. In June 2008, pension funds still had a positive balance of GBP13bn.In this environment, many firms are shutting down plans which offer defined benefits and are instead offering far less generous programs to new employees. According to the PPF, the total positive balance for programs with a surplus has fallen to GBP15.7bn, from GBP17.5bn in May 2009, while the cumulative deficit for programs with a negative balance totals GBP215.8bn, compared with GBP196.8bn at the end of May.
16/07/2009

Gartmore closes a fund

Das Investment reports that the British management firm Gartmore Asset Management will close the US Smaller Companies fund on 13 August. The director of the strategy, Steve Jenner, says that demand has collapsed and that the fund is no longer profitable. It will be merged into the US Growth Funds, which manages assets of GBP137m.
16/07/2009

RWC preparing a long/short fund that complies with UCITS III

Independent asset management firm RWC Partners (USD2.3bn in assets) announced on Wednesday that it is planning to launch the Luxembourg-registered fund RWC US Absolute Alpha in October. It is a long/short product that complies with the UCITS III directive, and will be managed in London by Mike Corcell, who has joined RWC recently after managing the American Crescendo funds at Threadneedle. The new fund, which is awaiting a license from the CSSF, will be focused on US equities, with the objective of generating high returns with low correlation to the direction of the markets, and of managing the risk of a decline in all market configurations.RWC Partners is planning to release the fund, with daily liquidity, throughout Europe. The fund will have tax-optimised share classes for German and British investors, and will offer share classes which are completely hedged for currency risks in Euros, US dollars, pounds Sterling and Swiss francs.
16/07/2009

Fisch AM launches a sustainable development convertible bonds fund

Swiss fund management firm Fisch Asset Management is releasing the Fisch CB Sustainable Fund, its sustainable development convertible bond fund. Sustainable development research is provided by Banque Sarasin. Management includes ecological and social criteria, says Kurt Fisch, founder of the asset management firm. The fund, registered in Luxembourg and compliant with the UCITS III directive, was launched on 18 May and is aimed at retail and institutional investors. The portfolio includes 50 to 70 positions, and shares are available in Euros or Swiss francs. A class of shares in US dollars is also planned. Characteristics Name FISCH CB Sustainable Fund HAE FISCH CB Sustainable Fund HA ISIN LU0428953425 LU0428953342 Currency EUR CHF Initial subscription EUR2,500 CHF2,500 Management fees 1.50% 1.50% Front-end fee 0.00–3.00% 0.00–3.00% Sales license D, LU CH, A in progess D, LU CH, A in progress Manager 1 Roland Hotz Roland Hotz Manager 2 Klaus Göggelmann Klaus Göggelmann
16/07/2009

Deka Immobilien invests in Waalwijk

For EUR42m, Deka Immobilien Investment has acquired a logistical centre constructed on 84.400 square metres in Waalwijk, the Netherlands (Northern Brabant region), for its open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienFonds. The halls, with a total area of 55,000 square metres, are leased in their entirety to Syncreon Netherlands.
16/07/2009

Groupama registers two SRI funds

Groupama Asset management has registered two socially responsible investment funds with the CNMV, the Euro Capital Durable (Euro zone equities) and the Credit Euro ISR (investment grade bonds), Funds People reports.
16/07/2009

Custody: Cougar chooses RBC Dexia

RBC Dexia Investor Services has announced that it has been selected by Cougar Global Investments to provide international custody services. Cougar offers investment advising services to high net worth private investors, trusts, and businesses in Canada, the Untied States, and Europe.
16/07/2009

End of provisional warning for Sal. Oppenheim

The German financial stabilisation fund SoFFin and the German federal government estimate that the problems at the Sal. Oppenheim private bank are no longer as serious as in the recent past, according to Handelsblatt. The regulatory authorities consequently estimate that there is no need to take immediate action. They will continue to closely monitor the bank’s financial situation. The market is expecting a capital increase. The other two options, an entry into the bank’s capital of a strategic partner or the sale of BHF-Bank, were dismissed a few days ago by the bank’s directors.
16/07/2009

Land Securities becomes a potential buyer

Land Securities Plc ont Wednesday announced it is looking for investment opportunities and that it plans to launch two major developments in the West End of London next year, The Wall Street Journal reports. The biggest UK REIT said it experiences an increased investor demande for first and midquality properties.
16/07/2009

Recruitments at Liontrust continue

After the announcement on 24 March of the recruitment of the European bond team from Ilex Asset Management, Liontrust Asset Management has recruited Ross Hollyman from GAM from 1 January 2010 (see NewsManagers of 23 June). Now, it has been learned that Hollyman will join the equities team at GAM, composed of Nikki Martin, Rob Cornish and Tom Ayres, who arrive in October.
16/07/2009

Henderson enters Portuguese market

Alastair Seymour, head of Henderson for the Iberian peninsula, says that Henderson New Star has begun the process to register its product range with the Portuguese securities commission, the CMVM, Funds People reports. The British management firm is planning to set up an office in Portugal by the end of summer, in order to attack the Latin American markets in fourth quarter.
16/07/2009

Fibanc-Mediolanum outsources management of come funds to Trea Capital

As its Italian parent company Mediolanum is already doing, the Spanish firm Fibanc-Mediolanum will outsource the management of a good part of its locally-registered funds (EUR550m in assets) to Tre Capital Partners, which belongs to its founder and president Carlos Tusquets, ABC reports, relayed by Funds People. Currently, the funds are managed by GesFibanc, which will transfer six of its partners to Trea (whose management team has nine members). GesFibanc will retain its brand name and the funds under their current names.
16/07/2009

Syz buys 50% of N+1 asset management firm

The Swiss financial group Syz & Co has bought a 50% stake in the asset management firm of the Spanish N+1 group to create a joint venture with assets of EUR245m, which manages 20 Sicavs or mandates and two investment funds. In addition, Cinco Días reports, the new entity, N+1 SYZ Gestión, advises two hedge fund management firms.
16/07/2009

Sarasin paints a real estate fund green

Banque Sarasin has been offering the Sarasin Sustainable Equity – Real Estate Global since 10 July. The product is “the first fund in the world to invest in shares in sustainable real estate firms,” claims the Swiss firm. The Luxembourg-registered product (LU 0288928376) is in fact a new version of the Sarasin Real Estate Equity - IIID (EUR), which has been reoriented. The widely diversified fund invests worldwide according to social and environmental criteria, in publicly-traded firms of the real estate sector and closed real estate funds.The Sarasin Sustainable Equity - Real Estate Global, managed by Jake Ferguson of Sarasin & Partners, combines the expertise of analysis and sustainability specialists at Sarasin Sustainable Investment in Basel with the experience of real estate experts at Sarasin & Partners in London. The latter firm has been managing real estate investments since 1994 and as of 10 July 2009 administered CHF364m in this sector.
16/07/2009

MFA welcomes findings of a report on CDS compensation

In a statement, the international Managed Funds Association (MFA) has welcomed the conclusions of a working group on compensation systems in Europe and the United States ((«Report to the Supervisors of the Major OTC Derivatives Dealers on the Proposals of Centralized CDS Clearing Solutions for the Segregation and Portability of Customer CDS Positions and Related Margin»). According to Richard H. Baker, President and CEO of the association, “the efforts of the working group and the report are both complete and welcome in terms of the calendar. The MFA is highly favourable to segregation of collateral, the portability of positions and direct and indirect buy-side access to centralised compensation. We are still prepared to collaborate with market regulators, industry working groups and other professional associations to determine the next steps to be taken to provide these solutions.”
15/07/2009

Number of ETFs listed on Euronext up 20%

As of the end of June, the number of ETF funds listed on Euronext came to 416 funds, listed 464 times, from 14 different promoters. The funds replicated 285 indexes covering several asset classes and/or strategies. In the first half, the number of ETF funds listed rose by 20%, with 71 funds launched and 3 closures. In June, Euronext admitted 21 products to trading, of which 17 were from CASAM (bonds, strategies and global), and 4 strategic products from ETF Securities. Daily trading volumes fell 10% from their levels in May, to EUR294m, while the number of transactions fell 12% to 6,736. The average spread fell to 45.51 basis points, from 55.96 in May.
15/07/2009

'Dark pools' attract larger volumes of assets and increasing concern

La Tribune reports that the NYSE-Euronext platform dedicated to block trading of shares appears to be attracting growing interest from investors. Fourteen new members have joined the ‘dark pool,’ which allows investors to trade shares discreetly, in compliance with all applicable regulations. Smart Pool, launched this February in partnership with JP Morgan, BNP Parbias and HSBC, has since posted a 90% growth in its activities.Market regulators are not particularly comfortable with these markets, however. According to the Financial Times, cited by La Tribune, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) is expected to hold a meeting with four dark pool operators today.
15/07/2009

CDS markets investigated by US Justice Department

Les Echos reports that the US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into credit default swap (CDS) markets. The Justice department is seeking to determine whether several major banks (JPMorganChase, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland and Goldman Sachs), all of which are shareholders in the Market company, may have profited from inside information in this capacity.
15/07/2009

Marc Dreier sentenced to 20 years in prison

The former lawyer Marc Dreier was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison for attempting to sell USD700 million fake promissory notes and defrauding clients, the Wall Street Journal reports. He will also be required to refund USD387.7m. The judge stated that he will support a request on the part of the prosecutor to seize USD746m in assets.
15/07/2009

Sales of government stakes in financial sector will take years

United Kingdom Financial Investments, the public holding company in charge of managing the UK government’s participations, announced on 13 July that the state’s stakes in British banks may take years to be sold off but by bits, La Tribune reports.
15/07/2009

British asset management industry affected by crisis

The British management industry is still very heavily affected by the financial crisis. Heavy falls on the markets in fourth quarter 2008 will have a marked impact on the entire sector in 2009, the British Investment Management Association (IMA) in its annual report for 2008. Despite mergers and acquisitions realised last year, the British management industry remains fragmented, the IMA reports. In 2008, total assets under management in the United Kingdom at IMA member firms totalled GBP3trn, compared with GBP3.4trn as of the end of 2007. Of this total, GBP1trn (an amount which remains unchanged since the end of 2007) is managed on behalf of international clients, while GBP500bn (down from GBP570bn) are in offshore funds, and GBP362bn (down from GBP468bn) are in funds domiciled in the United Kingdom. The proportion of the equities market held by British management firms was down to 43%, from 44% the previous year. Profits for management firms fell to GBP9.4bn, from GBP10.2bn in 2007.
15/07/2009

"Nous comptons doubler nos encours à Paris en trois ans"

La France a été le dernier grand pays européen où BNY Mellon Asset Management se soit implanté physiquement. La succursale parisienne de la filiale britannique a désormais un semestre d'existence, l'occasion pour Newsmanagers d'interroger son directeur général sur ses objectifs.

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