Selon la dernière étude «Vision» de State Street intitulée «Outsourcing Investment Operations : Managing Expense and Supporting Strategic Growth», les gérants d’actifs ont de plus en plus tendance à sous-traiter les activités de service car ils ont pris conscience que les prestataires de services externes génèrent des économies en termes d’efficacité opérationnelle et technique grâce à des solutions globales s’appliquant à toutes les étapes du cycle d’investissement.De plus, les nouvelles normes comptables, «l’établissement de rapports à communiquer régulièrement aux autorités de tutelle et la divulgation d’informations plus détaillées aux investisseurs» constituent autant de contraintes onéreuses et qui représentent un risque. Enfin, les bouleversements de ces douze derniers mois ont mis en lumière l’augmentation du risque de conformité, insiste State Street.
Les activités titres des grandes banques internationales et des brokers ont déjà franchi le point bas de la crise, estime Standard & Poor’s dans un rapport publié le 25 juin (Global Banks’ And Brokers’ Securities-Related Businesses Appear To Be Past The Trough, But Improvement Will Be Gradual) qui souligne toutefois que le retour à meilleure fortune sera très progressif."Nous pensons que le quatrième trimestre 2008 a probablement marqué le point bas pour les activités de trading de ces banques et que le premier trimestre 2009 a été le point bas pour leurs activités de banque d’investissement, d’asset management et de wealth management», précise l’analyste crédit de Standard & Poor’s Scott Sprinzen.
Selon Les Echos, la CDC discuterait actuellement d’un partenariat de co-investissement avec l’un des plus grands fonds souverains étrangers, le chinois China Development Bank, qui revendique 300 milliards d’euros d’actifs. China Development Bank fait partie des fonds qui ont rejoint cette semaine le club des investisseurs de long terme co-fondé par la CDC.
Le Banco Português do Investimento (Banco BPI) a annoncé la cession de sa filiale de capital-investissement Inter-Risco dans le cadre d’un MBO monté par Afonso de Barros, administrateur de la société et président de l’APCRI, l’association portugaise du capital-investissement. Afonso de Barros et les deux autres dirigeants d’inter-Riso, Isabel sousa Coelho et Rui pedro Mota, contrôleront 50,1 % du capital, rapporte Funds People.Inter-Risco prépare actuellement le lancement d’un nouveau fonds de 150 millions d’euros destiné à internationaliser son portefeuille qui comprend actuellement 17 participations d’une valeur totale de 46 millions d’euros.
Van Eck Global a annoncé le lancement du Van Eck Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund, un «mutual fund» ouvert permettant aux investisseurs d’accéder à plusieurs stratégies, dont des stratégies de performances absolue, avec une liquidité et une valorisation quotidiennes. Le fonds aura un ensemble diversifier de sub-advisors, et il investisera dans des fonds ouverts, des fonds fermés et des ETF.en utilisant des stratégies d’arbitrage et directionnelles long/short, entre autres. Pour la sélection de gérants, Van Eck se repose à la fois sur ses spécialistes en interne et sur la travaux d’Explorer Alternative Management, un sélectionneur de gérants et de hedge funds.La souscription minimale pour la classe de part A est de 5.000 dollars et les frais sont plafonnés à 2,40 %.
Delphi accuse un groupe de hedge funds de prendre en otage General Motors et le gouvernement américain en s’opposant à la vente de la partie du fabricant de pièces détachées automobiles à Platinum Equity, rapporte le Financial Times. Cela concerne notamment le hedge fund Elliott Associates.
Ben Bernanke, indique la Tribune, a déclaré que la décision d’aller de l’avant dans la fusion entre Bank of America et Merill Lynch est restée entre les mains de la direction de BofA. Le patron de la Fed s’est vu reproché d’avoir forcé la main de Bank of America.
D’après VDOS Stochastics, rapporte Cinco Días, on a enregistré depuis le début de l’année le lancement en Espagne de 146 fonds, 98 étrangers et 48 espagnols. C’est plus du double du total enregistré pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Les gestionnaires les plus actifs dans ce domaine ont été le BBVA avec 7 fonds et le Santander ainsi qu’Invercaixa avec 5 fonds chacun.
L’aventure d’Altitude Investments, fruit d’un accord entre le BBVA et Schroders, est arrivée à sa fin. Le BBVA a notifié jeudi à la CNMV qu'à compter du 11 juin il a été mis fin à l’accord de délégation de gestion de fonds conclu entre BBVA et Altitude. Le BBVA a entamé la liquidation de ses deux fonds enregistrés en Espagne sous la marque Altitude, le Teide et le Veleta, indique Expansión. Le troisième produit, de droit luxembourgeois, a été liquidé début février. Le Teide et le Veleta affichaient au total 15 millions d’euros d’encours et avaient 111 souscripteurs. Au pic, ils avaient atteint 500 millions d’euros d’actifs sous gestion.
Depuis que la CNMV a rappelé que les établissements avec une notation inférieure à A6 (S&P et Fitch) ou A3 (Moody’s) ne sont pas autorisées à garantir des fonds d’investissement, le nombre des banques et caisses d'épargne enregistrées en Espagne (respectivement 75 et 45) susceptibles de fournir cette garantie a sensiblement fondu, rapporte Funds People. Cela est d’autant plus important que 56 % des fonds nouvellement lancés sur le marché espagnol sont des fonds garantis. A présent, on ne compte plus que que 13 banques et 10 caisses d'épargne «éligibles».parce que leur notation est supérieure au minimum requis. Sept établissements, dont quatre caisses d'épargne et une banque populaire, se qualifient de justesse. Dans cette dernière catégorie figurent des noms aussi connus que Bankinter et Banco Pastor.
D’après VDOS Stochastics, rapporte Cinco Días, on a enregistré depuis le début de l’année le lancement en Espagne de 146 fonds, 98 étrangers et 48 espagnols. C’est plus du double du total enregistré pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Les gestionnaires les plus actifs dans ce domaine ont été le BBVA avec 7 fonds et le Santander ainsi qu’Invercaixa avec 5 fonds chacun.
Fortis Holding a indiqué jeudi que Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings (BGI) lui a notifié le 18 juin avoir désormais franchi le seuil des 3 % de son capital. De fait, au 15 mai 2009, BGI détenait 3,05 % des actions Fortis Holdings en circulation.
According to the World Wealth Report, published on 24 June by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini, the confidence high net worth private investors show in the markets, regulatory authorities, financial institutions and the basic principles of portfolio management have been questioned by the global economic recession. Losses on the markets and a fall in the confidence level have led many high net worth private investors to diversify their investments to several institutions in order to limit risks. The report finds that more than 25% of millionaires partially or totally divested from their wealth management institutions in 2008. To win the loyalty of their clients more fully, advisors and wealth management firms will need to improve the quality of reporting on risk factors, increase the level of customer service, and reorient their communication to provide more transparency.
Securities activities at major international banks and brokers have already passed the low point in the current crisis, Standard & Poor’s estimates in a report published on 25 June (Global Banks’ and Brokers’ Securities-Related Businesses Appear To Be Past The Trough, But Improvement Will Be Gradual), which adds that, as its title indicates, a return to better times will be gradual. “We believe that fourth quarter 2008 probably marked the low point for trading activities of these banks, and that first quarter 2009 was the low point for their investment banking, asset management and wealth management activities,” says Scott Sprinzen, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s.
The Financial Times reports that Alistair Darling is planning to unveil a new Banking Act this year, which will strengthen the role of the Financial Services Authority. The decision comes in the wake of criticism of the Bank of England for failing to react adequately to the banking crisis. The chancellor will assign the FSA a new mission of maintaining financial stability.
The latest trend on the securities markets is automated investment programs. The Telegraph reports, as relayed by Cinco Días, that Streambase has developed a system which chases for sensitive information via Twitter, since this social network is faster than the Reuters or Bloomberg news agencies.
Following the announcement on Thursday that redemptions will reopen for the CS Euroreal fund, the market is waiting for its example to be followed in the near future at four other open-ended real estate funds which were also frozen at the end of October, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. In early July, KanAm grundbesitz will reopen, followed in mid-July by Axa Immoselect. During the month of July, Morgan Stanley Real Estate and TMW are expected to announce reopenings of the P2 Value and Immobilien Weltfonds. At any rate, the reopening of the SEB ImmoInvest fund (EUR6.3bn in assets) on 2 June has gone well: although SEB Asset Management was expecting heavy outflows, redemptions represented only an amount in the low hundreds of millions of Euros. At DEGI International (EUR2.5bn), redemptions have been limited to EUR260m in the past four weeks.
CNP Assurances (CNP) and Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays) have concluded an agreement for a term of 25 years to develop their life insurance activities, via the Barclays network in Spain, Portugal and Italy, capitalizing both on the experience and the rapid growth of Barlcays in these countries (about 1,000 sales points as of the end of 2008), and on potential for growth in the southern European insurance markets. The agreement involves an acquisition of a 50% stake in CNP by the life insurance affiliate of Barclays, Barclays Vida y Pensiones (BVP), which operates in Spain and Portugal. The two partners will also launch a new insurance activity in Italy, which will come in addition to the already existing activity. CNP will take operational control of all of these structures. By the terms of the agreement, Barclays will receive an initial sum of EUR140m from CNP, at the conclusion of the operation. This amount is subject to adjustment depending on the net assets of BVP as calculated at the conclusion of the operation. A complementary payment mechanism over 12 years which may result in a significant added amount has also been stipulated. The payments will be tied to expected volumes and margins as well as growth of the network of Barclays agencies.
According to the latest “Vision” survey from State Street, entitled “Outsourcing Investment Operations: Managing Expense and Supporting Strategic Growth,” asset managers increasingly tend to outsource their support activities, as they are aware than external service providers generate savings in terms of operational and technical efficiency, thanks to global solutions applied to all the steps of the investment cycle. In addition, new accounting standards, “reportings to be submitted on a regular basis to regulatory authorities and the disclosure of more detailed information to investors,” are responsibilities that carry considerable costs, and involve some risk. The turbulence of the past few months has thrown into relief that compliance risks are increasing, State Street observes.
Selon Les Echos, Bernard Madoff sera fixé lundi sur son sort, sauf surprise de dernière minute, ce qui n’est pas à exclure. Déjà, en mai, le juge avait repoussé la séance du 16 juin au 29 juin pour des raisons de logistique. Bernard Madoff est à l’origine d’une fraude pyramidale, estimée à environ 65 milliards de dollars. . Pour cette escroquerie, traduite par 11 chefs d’inculpation, parmi lesquels « blanchiment d’argent, faux et usage de faux, fraudes sur des titres financiers, transactions et courriers électroniques », il risque d'écoper de cent cinquante ans de prison.
Credit Suisse Asset Management Immobilien KAG (CSAM Immobilien) announced on Thursday that, as planned, its open-ended real estate fund CS Euroreal will reopen redemptions, which were suspended at the end of October, on 30 June. The move has been made possible since the fund has ammassed a sufficient liquidity reserve and to the fact that the good performance of the fund (4.4% as of 31 May) has attracted high subscription levels. Karl-Heinz Heuß, CEO of CSAM Immobilien, says that “free” liquidity as of 23 June represented a total of EUR1.1bn, or 16% of assets, and that gross liquidity is estimated at EUR1.7bn, or 24% of assets under management. From 30 October, the date on which redemptions were frozen, until 23 June, net subscriptions have totalled more than EUR420m, which, CSAM Immobilien says, is the highest amount recorded for all frozen real estate funds in Germany. To profit from investment opportunities which could be available, SCAM Immobilien is in negotiations with several banks to raise the fund’s credit ratio from 15% to about 25%.
On the basis of preliminary results for April and May as well as estimated results for June, UBS predicts that it will post a net loss for second quarter 2009. Projected losses are largely due to capital losses on liabilities and restructuring charges already announced. However, the Swiss group announced on Thursday, operating results for April-June are expected to improvecompared with the first quarter 2009, largely due to more favourable market conditions for the investment bank and a reduction in losses and write-downs on high-risk positions inherited from the past. In second quarter, the three wealth management and asset management divisions show net outflows thus far. The bank has also announced that it will be offering 293,258,050 shares to a restricted number of institutional investors at a price of CHF13 per share. This will raise a net total of nearly CHF3.8bn.
Four asset management firms, Erste Sparinvest (Erste Bank and the Austrian savings banks), Schelhammer & Schattera, Kepler, and RCM (Raiffeisen group) have founded the Austrian sustainable investment forum, or Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen Österreich (FNG), which will be the Austrian branch of the German-speaking FNG, which includes Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and which now has 95 members. Wolfgang Pinner, head of sustainable investment activities at Erste Sparinvest, has told Newsmanagers that “core SRI” assets in Austria total about EUR1bn currently, of which about 80% are at the four founding members of FNG Österreich. The goal is to double these assets under management in five years, which would let Austria catch up somewhat with the European leaders.
Since the CNMV pointed out that institutions with a rating of less than A- (S&P and Fitch) or A3 (Moody’s) are not authorised to guarantee investment funds, the number of banks and savings banks registered in Spain (75 and 45, respectively) able to provide these guarantees has collapsed, Funds People reports. This trend is all the more significant as 56% of funds recently launched on the Spanish market are guaranteed funds. Currently, there are only 13 banks and 10 savings banks “eligible” to provide these guarantees, with a rating higher than the minimum required. Seven firms, of which four are savings banks and one is a cooperative bank, qualify with the minimum rating. In this latter category are well-known names such as Bankinter and Banco Pastor.
Following a reopening of subscriptions between 2 and 16 June, Credit Suisse Fondation de placement Real Estate Switzerland (CSF RES) has attracted more than the CHF250m in new money it had initially aimed for. Subscriptions totalled CHF1.65bn.
According to VDOS Stochastics, Cinco Días reports, 146 funds have been launched in Spain since the beginning of the year, 98 of them foreign and 48 of them Spanish. This is more than double the total registered in the corresponding period of last year. The most active managers in this domain were BBVA, with 7 funds, and Santander and Invercaixa, with 5 funsd each.
The adventure of Altitude Investments, born of an agreement between BBVA and Schroders, is at an end. BBVA notified the CNMV on Thursday that on 11 June it cancelled its fund management outsourcing agreement with Altitude. BBVA has begun liquidation of its two funds registered in Spain under the Altitude brand, Teide and Veleta, Expansión reports. The third product, registered in Luxembourg, was liquidated in early February. Teide and Veleta had a total fo EUR15m in assets and 111 subscribers. At their peak, they had EUR500m in assets under management.
D’après VDOS Stochastics, rapporte Cinco Días, on a enregistré depuis le début de l’année le lancement en Espagne de 146 fonds, 98 étrangers et 48 espagnols. C’est plus du double du total enregistré pour la période correspondante de l’an dernier. Les gestionnaires les plus actifs dans ce domaine ont été le BBVA avec 7 fonds et le Santander ainsi qu’Invercaixa avec 5 fonds chacun.
Delphi has accused a group of hedge funds of holding General Motors and the US government hostage by opposing a sale of the auto parts manufacturing activities of Platinum Equity, the Financial Times reports. Elliott Associates is held particularly responsible.