Les gérants de fonds de hedge funds retrouvent leur optimisme. Selon le dernier consensus Hedge Funds réalisée par Seeds Finance, l’indice de confiance, qui mesure les stratégies anticipées des stratégies Hedge funds, remonte à +0,56, à son plus haut niveau depuis le quatrième trimestre 2007 après avoir touché un plus bas historique de 0,37 au deuxième trimestre 2008. «Après le vent de panique de fin d’année 2008 liées aux performances et aux ordres de rachat massifs de la part de leurs investisseurs, les multigérants retrouvent un horizon plus clair et ont commencé à redéployer leur portefeuille», indique Seeds Finance dans son dernier Consensus Hedge Fund (mai 2009, n° 29).Les gérants conservent de façon générale des allocations très orientées sur des stratégies non directionnelles, et bénéficiant pour la plupart d’une bonne liquidité. Autrement dit, les stratégies de trading comme le global macro, ainsi que les stratégies d’arbitrage comme le fixed income arbitrage ou le convertible arbitrage. A l’inverse, les gérants continuent de se méfier des stratégies qui ont le plus souffert l’an dernier : event-driven, multi-strategy et distressed. Et les anticipations sur les stratégies CTA sont passées du vert ou rouge vif, en raison probablement des mauvaises performances de cette stratégie au premier trimestre. Une enquête spécifique sur l’utilisation des «managed accounts» ou comptes gérés par les multigérants indique que 40% des gérants voient dans ces comptes une bonne évolution de l’industrie de la gestion alternative, alors que 44% sont de l’avis inverse. Plus des trois quarts des gérants y voient une sécurité en termes de risque opérationnel, de liquidité et de transparence. Les principales critiques sont un accès à un nombre limité de gérants de qualité, des rendements souvent décevants par rapport au véhicule offshore, une transparence pour la plate-forme mais pas pour l’investisseur final, des frais élevés. Près de 64% des gérants pensent pourtant investir dans des comptes gérés à hauteur de 10-30% de leur portefeuille.

Depuis le début de l’année, ING Investment Management a enregistré pour 250 millions d’euros de souscriptions nettes dans l’ensemble des stratégies dividendes, après une année 2008 étale avec toutefois une reprise des souscriptions au quatrième trimestre, a indiqué hier Nicolas Simar, responsable de la gestion value high dividend, à l’occasion d’une conférence d’investissement. A fin avril, les fonds «dividend» totalisaient quelque 4,2 milliards d’euros.

Il faut attendre le bas de la deuxième page du communiqué consacré aux synergies escomptées pour que BlackRock précise que l’acquisition auprès de la banque britannique Barclays de la totalité de Barclays Global Investors (BGI), dont iShares (300 milliards de dollars dans 350 ETF), annoncée jeudi soir, s’effectue en échange de 37,8 millions d’actions ordinaires de BlackRock et de 6,6 milliards de dollars en numéraire. Cela représente environ 13,5 milliards de dollars. Barclays détiendra 19,9 % de l’entreprise issue de cette transaction, qui portera le nom de BlackRock Global Investors et emploiera 9.000 personnes dans 24 pays pour gérer 2,7 billions de dollars. L’opération devrait être bouclée dans le courant du quatrième trimestre 2009.Le montant de la transaction correspond à seulement 0,9 % de l’encours de BGI, alors que la norme avant la crise était plutôt de 2 %. BlackRock compte financer les 6,6 milliards de dollars de la partie en cash par des liquidités disponibles, une facilité de crédit de 2 milliards de dollars fournie par Barclays, Citi et Credit Suisse ainsi que l'émission d’actions nouvelles à destination d’investisseurs institutionnels. BlackRock précise avoir reçu des engagements de ces investisseurs pour acquérir 19,9 millions d’actions, représentant 2,8 milliards de dollars.

Selon L’Agefi suisse, Credit Suisse veut offrir aux investisseurs un accès à l’expertise de Glencore, le numéro un mondial du trading de matières premières basé à Zoug. La banque suisse envisage la création d’indices, eux-mêmes réplicables, par exemple par le biais de fonds. Néanmoins, le genre de produit destiné à retracer la performance des indices créés n’a pas encore été défini. Des rumeurs circulent par rapport à une éventuelle extension de la gamme d’ETF XMTCH. Les positions des indices ne seront dévoilées qu’avec un retard de six semaines. Conscient de son impact prépondérant sur le marché, Glencore ne souhaite pas que la divulgation de ses prévisions n’influence l’évolution de la valeur de ses positions.

Selon L’Agefi suisse, les acteurs de la gestion alternative sont plutôt optimistes sur l’avenir du secteur. Lors d’une table ronde au salon Invest09, Dariush Aryeh, cofondateur de la société de conseil spécialisé Fundana, a considéré la baisse drastique du nombre de participants – qu’il estime à -60% – comme un assainissement qui permettra à l’alternatif de retrouver des niveaux de rendements plus importants que ces 5 à 6 dernières années. Le même optimisme prévalait chez Bertrand Bricheux, responsable du développement de la gestion alternative chez UBP, qui a également mis en exergue les importantes opportunités notamment liées aux primes de risques qui restent à des niveaux anormaux.

En 2008, les investissements de private equity en Europe se sont contractés de 28 % à 54 milliards d’euros dans 5.400 entreprises, mais ils sont revenus au niveau de 2005, selon le rapport annuel de l’European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA). La chute a été plus forte (- 40 %) pour les grandes et méga-opérations, aussi bien en montants qu’en nombre de transactions, tandis que les opérations de petite et de moyenne taille diminuaient de 30 % en valeur et de 15 en nombre.Cependant, malgré la crise, les capital-investisseurs ont réussi à drainer 79 milliards d’euros contre 81 milliards pour 2007. Les deuxième et troisième trimestres ont été particulièrement vigoureux, mais les rentrées ont chuté au quatrième.

Le Jupiter Japan Select Fund sera lancé début juillet par Jupiter Asset Management. Ce nouveau produit de 40-55 lignes géré par Simon Somerville (par ailleurs gérant du Japan Income Fund) investira principalement dans les petites et moyennes capitalisations nippones mais pourra placer jusqu'à 20 % en actions hong-kongaises, sud-coréennes, taiwanaises, singapouriennes ou malaises ainsi qu’en emprunts d’Etat. Ce fonds, qui aura le Topix comme benchmark, sera l’un des huit compartiments de la Sicav luxembourgeoise Jupiter Global Fund.Le droit d’entrée et la commission de gestion se situeront à respectivement 5 % et 1,5 %. La souscription minimale sera de 1.000 dollars, euros ou livres sterling. Jupiter a prévu de commercialiser ce produits en Allemagne, Autriche, Finlande, France et Suède, au fur et à mesure qu’il obtiendra les agréments correspondants.

Pour l’exerice au 31 mars, le fonds de pension California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) a affiché une perte moyenne de 29,2 % alors que son benchmark ne reculait que de 26,4 %, indique Global Pensions. Les portefeuilles ont accusé des pertes pour chacune des classes d’actifs, la plus forte étant celle des actions mondiales avec un plongeon de 40,9 %. Cependant, s’il subit une perte de 19 %, le portefeuille de private equity a fait mieux que son benchmark, qui a souffert d’une baisse de 36,2 %.

Le célèbre banquier de Lazard aux Etats-Unis, Gary Parr, a été nommé directeur du New York Philharmonic, le plus ancien orchestre du pays, qui vit actuellement une période difficile du fait de la crise. Il prendra son poste en septembre.

Selon L’Agefi suisse, Arab Bank (Switzerland), la filiale helvétique de l’établissement jordanien, va créer une plateforme en vue de servir à Genève et Zurich la clientèle globale de private banking du groupe. Avec ses filiales de Zurich et Genève, Arab Bank (Switzerland) représentera le centre de services du groupe pour la clientèle du Proche et Moyen-Orient.

Arab Bank (Switzerland) a annoncé qu’elle remboursera la totalité de ses clients victimes de l’affaire Madoff. Les pertes représentent près de 20 millions de francs suisses, précise Le Temps.

La Tribune reports that the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the firm which operates the London stock market, the private equity firm 31, and the plumbing materials distributor Wolseley will be joining the Footsie (FTSE) 100 index, the most popular benchmark of the London stock market, on 22 June. The decision was taken by the FTSE group, which manages the London indexes, at their quarterly revision of the indexes on Wednesday evening. The shares in question were excluded from the FTSE three months earlier as their market capitalisation levels were too low. One reason that the London stock market may appear more reactive than its Parisian counterpart is that changes to the composition of the index are made automatically, the newspaper comments. As soon as a share which is not part of the FTSE 100 ranks in the top 90 shares on the stock exchange by market capitalisation, it joins the index.

The independent wealth management firm Flossbach und von Storch will manage the bond fund FvS Bond Opportunities, launched by Wallberg Invest, with the objective of long-term outperformance 2 percentage points above inflation. The management team may use international investment grade bonds and money market instruments. The fund is licensed for sale in Germany and Austria. The portfolio of 40-60 positions will be initially overweight in very high quality corporate bonds, but will also include linkers and interesting new issues.Selection of investments will rely on a proprietary analytical tool, and will aim to exploit inefficiencies in maturity structures. There will be active risk-management and forex, interest rate and credit risks will be hedged. Duration will be used by Flossbach & von Storch as a strategic and not a tactical parameter. Details Name: FvS Bond Opportunities ISIN Code: LU0399027613 Front-end fee: 5% Management fee: 1.20% Minimal subscription: EUR1,000

The Spanish investment bank Ambers&Co will soon launch the Gawa Microfinance Fund, 50% of which will be managed by the US firm Treetops Capital, and which will aim for a net annual performance of 9%, Funds People reports. The new product, which will be available as a Luxembourg-registered private equity fund or as a Spanish hedge fund, will invest in debt from the developing world issued by micro-credit establishments, or in minority stakes in such establishments. Minimal subscription will be EUR500,000, which in practice restricts the product to institutional investors, family offices, and national development agencies.

In 2008, investments in private equity in Europe contracted by 28% to EUR54bn invested in 5,400 businesses, equivalent to 2005 levels, according to the annual report from the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA). The decline was heaviest (-40%) for large operations and mega-deals, both in terms of the size and the number of transactionss, while small and mid-sized deals have decreased in size by 30% and in number by 15.Despite the crisis, private equity investors attracted EUR79bn in investment, down from EUR81bn in 2007. Second and third quarter were particularly active, but inflows fell in fourth quarter.

Open architecture will die out in the wake of the financial crisis, according to a survey by Spence Johnson, whose results are reported in Financial Times Fund Management. The model is rejected both by banks, who are seeking to restore their balance sheets to good health by selling in-house products, and asset management firms, who are seeking to reduce the costs of multi-distribution. Asset managers are now in favour of guided architecture.

Competition between financial centres continues to be fierce. A delegation sent from Quebec to Paris and the Centre financier international de Montréal (CFI Montréal) last night held a conference in Paris, in partnership with the government of Canada, which aimed to provide information to financial companies interested in setting up locations in Quebec.There is no lack of arguments in favour of doing so. In addition to the close historical and cultural ties between Quebec and France, Quebec also represents an ideal stepping-stone to the US market. CFI Montréal, which aims to facilitate setting up operations in Montreal for businesses specialised in the area of international financial transactions, also highlights the advantageous costs and a highly competitive tax framework, which includes a 75% tax exemption for Quebec businesses. “We are not a tax haven, but we are close to fiscal paradise,” says Wilfrid-Guy Licari, general delegate of Quebec.To promote the Quebec market, CFI Montréal presented a representative panel of local businesses, including Newedge, which employes 45 people, and Rothschild, with 15 employees. Most of the heavyweights in French finance are present, including BNP Paribas and Société Générale. The conference last night was attended by 75 people representing 55 financial companies, and says Steve Gauthier, vice president and director of corporate development at CFI Montréal, there was an exceptionally high turnout of those invited, on the order of 10%, or more, counting companies which, though they did not attend the conference, showed a high level of interest.Though it is better known for aerospace, IT, and life sciences, Montreal is not negligible as a financial platform, with 3,000 companies that employ 125,000 people. The recent arrival of Morgan Stanley, which will eventually employ 500 there, will strengthen the attractiveness of Montreal as an international financial centre.

Bill Nixon, chief investment officer for the private equity team at Aberdeen Asset Management, has launched an MBO with five senior executives on the team, Andrew Craig, Jock Gardiner, Stella Panu, Bill Kennedy and Andrew Ferguson, Money Marketing reports. Their new firm, Maven Capital Partners, will continue to manage venture capital trusts from Aberdeen (GBP54m) and the Capital for Enterprise fund (GBP30m) on behalf of Capital for Enterprise Managers. The back-office team which supports the private equity specialists will also join Maven.

La Tribune reports that Axa Insurance, the British affiliate of the French insurance firm, yesterday announced the suppression of 560 jobs in the United Kingdom to come in the next few months. “We will have to cut product lines which have not been successful and which are unprofitable,” says the head of the affiliate, Philippe Maso, cited in the newspaper. Less than half of the announced job cuts will be achieved through layoffs.

At the end of 2008, assets under management at Rensburg Fund Management totalled GBP1.08bn, compared with GBP1.47bn twelve months earlier, while “unit trusts” were down to GBP770m from GBP1.08bn. Outflows totalled GBP380m, but the contraction in assets under management is largely imputable to losses on the markets: investors, for their part, have placed GBP470m in subscriptions.Investment Week reports that Rensburg pre-tax profits fell last year by 26.5% to GBP4.3m. Final dividend remains unchanged at 17 pence per share, as do total dividends, at 25.5 pence.

Only at the bottom of the second page of its statement on the subject of the anticipated synergies in the acquisition does BlackRock mention that its purchase of the entirety of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) from the British firm Barclays, including iShares (USD300bn in 350 ETF funds), announced on Thursday evening, will be paid with 37.8 million ordinary shares in BlackRock and USD6.6bn in cash. This represents a total of about USD13.5bn. Barclays will control 19.9% of the business resulting from the transaction, which will adopt the name of BlackRock Global Investors, and will employ 9,000 people in 24 countries, and manage USD2.7trn in assets. The acquisition will be completed during fourth quarter 2009. The purchase price corresponds to only 0.9% of total assets at BGI, while the usual price for such businesses before the crisis was closer to 2%. BlackRock is planning to finance the USD6.6bn in cash partly from available liquidity, and partly with a USD2bn line of credit furnished by Barclays, Citi and Credit Suisse, as well as an issue of new shares to institutional investors. BlackRock says it has received pledges from these investors to acquire 19.9 million shares, representing USD2.8bn.

Since the beginning of the year, ING Investment Management has registered EUR250m in net subscriptions for its dividend strategies as a whole, following a year in 2008 marked by a downturn in subscriptions in fourth quarter, Nicolas Simar, head of value high dividend management, said yesterday at an investment conference. As of the end of April, dividend funds had a total of approximately EUR4.2bn in assets.

Fund of hedge fund managers are recovering their optimism. According to the most recent Hedge Funds survey by Seeds Finance, the confidence index, which measures anticipated investments by hedge fund strategies, stands at +0.56, its highest level since fourth quarter 2007, and up from an all-time low of 0.37 in second quarter 2008. “After the storm of panic at the end of 2008 related to performance and massive redemption demands from investors, multi-managers are beginning to see a calmer horizon and to rediscover their portfolio,” says Seeds Finance in its latest Consensus Hedge Fund report (no. 29, May 2009).Fund managers are generally maintaining allocations that are highly oriented to non-directional strategies, and mostly have high levels of liquidity - in other words, trading strategies such as global macro, and arbitrage strategies such as fixed income arbitrage and convertible arbitrage. However, fund managers continue to be skeptical of the strategies that did worst last year: event-driven, multi-strategy and distressed. Outlooks for CTA strategies have gone from green to deep red, probably due to poor performance for this strategy in first quarter.A specific survey on the use of managed accounts by multi-managers finds that 40% of fund managers see these accounts as a positive development in the alternative management industry, while 44% think the opposite. More than three quarters of fund managers see them as providing security in terms of operational risk, liquidity and transparency. The major criticisms are that they provide access to only a limited number of high quality fund managers, returns are often disappointing compared with offshore vehicles, the fact that they provide transparency for the platform but not for the final investor, and the high fees.Nearly 64% of fund managers are planning to invest 10-30% of their portfolios in managed accounts.

The Jupiter Japan Select Fund will be launched in early July by Jupiter Asset Management. The new product with 40-55 positions, managed by Simon Somerville (also manager of the Japan Income Fund) will invest primarily in Japanese smidcaps, but may also invest up to 20% in shares from Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, as well as in government bonds. The fund will have the Topix as its benchmark, and will be one of eight sub-funds of the Luxembourg Sicav Jupiter Global Fund.Front-end fee and management commission will be 5% and 1.5%, respectively. Minimal subscription will be USD1,000, EUR1,000, or GBP1,000. Jupiter plans to release the product in Germany, Austria, Finland, France and Sweden, as the corresponding sales licenses are obtained.

The Chinese fund management sector will see a strong increase in its assets this year to CNY2.7trn, according to predictions by Z-Ben Advisors, reported in Financial Times Fund Management. In 2008, assets fell 40% to CNY1.94trn, or EUR200bn.

La Financière Responsable, an asset management firm specialised in socially responsible investment partly owned by La Française des Placements, has announced that it has signed and will adhere to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and the United Nations Global Compact. LFR, which manages EUR25m in assets (as of 30/05/09), has also launched a website under http://www.la-financiere-responsable.fr/.

For the fiscal year ending 31 March, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has posted an average loss of 29.2%, while its benchmark is down only 26.4%, Global Pensions reports. Portfolios have posted losses in each asset class, with the largest fall being global equities, which are down 40.9%. However, though it has lost 19%, the private equity portfolio is doing better than its benchmark, which has fallen by 36.2%.

Arab Bank (Switzerland) has announced that it will reimburse all of its clients who lost money in the Madoff affair. These losses total nearly CHF20m, Le Temps reports.

L’Agefi Switzerland reports that Arab Bank (Switzerland), the Swiss affiliate of the Jordanian business, will create a platform to serve global private banking clients of the group from Geneva and Zurich. With these Zurich and Geneva affiliates, Arab Bank (Switzerland) will represent the service centre of the group for clients in the Near and Middle East.

Nic Barnes is leaving UBS Asset Management, where he was head of the Sterling bond team, which is in a phase of reorganization following a difficult period. The team has suffered losses of 17.9% in the twelve months to the end of April. Barnes’ responsibilities will be taken over by Bob Jolly, head of currencies, and Alix Stewart, in charge of British corporate bonds, the Wall Street Journal reports.Since the beginning of this year, UBS AM has also changed its head of US bonds, with the recruitment of Doug Dugenske from Neuberger Berman, who replaces John Penicook. Rob Gambi will retain his position as overall head of bonds.