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05/03/2009

Spain - Transfers represent nearly half of gross subscriptions

According to statistics from the Spanish Inverco association of management firms, gross subscriptions last year represented EUR120.9bn. Of this total, transfers from other funds represented 43.8%, compared with about one third in previous years. Meanwhile, gross redemptions totalled EUR175bn, of which 30.1% were transferred to other funds. In total, transfers totalled EUR52.9bn, with the two most active months being January (EUR7bn) and October (EUR6.1bn).
05/03/2009

United Kingdom - Tim Steer leaves New Star for Artemis

Tim Steer, one of the best-rated managers at New Star, will be leaving the firm, the Telegraph reports in its 3 March edition. The reports have since been relayed by several news sources. ?His departure is a setback for Henderson,? the management firm which will acquire New Star, the British newspaper comments.The manager of the UK Alpha Fund is joining Artemis, where he will contribute to the development of hedge fund activities. His colleague at New Star, Stephen Yiu, will also move to Artemis.
05/03/2009

France - GLG loses an appeal against the AMF

GLG Partners has lost an appeal against a EUR1.5m fine levelled against it by the French market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), for insider trading of Vivendi shares, the Financial Times reports. The hedge fund firm has also appealed the decision to the Conseil d’Etat.
05/03/2009

United States - More bad news in store for institutionals

Major US investors such as pension funds and charities have another year of losses ahead of them, the Wall Street Journal estimates. Many of them invested in private equity, to which some allocated 10% of their assets or more. In the next few weeks, private equity firms will publish results that will show losses of 15-50% in fourth quarter.
05/03/2009

Singapore - Sovereign fund invested in banks too soon

At a bankers’ forum sponsored by Thomson Reuters, Lee Kuan Yew, chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the largest sovereign funds in the world, has admitted that the fund invested ?too soon? in Citigroup and UBS, the Financial Times reports. GIC invested in the banks in early 2008.
05/03/2009

United States - Tracker funds outperformed active management in 2008

On average, equities tracker funds lost 39.1% last year, while actively-managed equities funds lost 40.5%, according to Morningstar. The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to Lipper, actively managed funds suffered net outflows of USD221.8bn, while tracker funds posted net subscriptions of USD17.6bn. The big winners were ETFs. According to the Investment Company Institute, assets in equities ETFs rose from USD15.6bn at the end of 1998 to USD473.8bn at the end of 2008.
05/03/2009

France - EUR17bn in new bond issues in Paris

L’Agefi reports, citing L’Agence France Trésor, French government bond issues are expected to increase by EUR17bn, or 10%, this year. France is planning to issue ?EUR155bn in BTAN and OAT [government bonds and coupons based on them], up from EUR145bn, and EUR37bn in treasury bonds (BTF), up from EUR30bn,? the online news source reports.
05/03/2009

Germany - C-Quadrat will be listed only in Frankfurt

C-Quadrat has announced that it is planning to withdraw its shares from trading on the Vienna stock exchange. The German management firm will then be listed only in Frankfurt. Shares in the firm began to be traded on the Austrian market in May 2008.
05/03/2009

World - Fitch to provide more details with ratings

Fitch Ratings is modifying the definitions of its various levels of AAA ratings, and will now supply more details in explanations of its ratings of debt and bond issuers, and of default risk ratings.
05/03/2009

Germany - Lyxor, Avana, and SGSS launch active management based on ETFs

?Active solutions with passive ETFs? and strict risk management is the theme around which a cooperation agreement officially signed on Wednesday by Lyxor Asset Management, Avana Investment, and Société Générale Securities Services KAG, is organized. The common point between the firms is that they are all led by former directors from Indexchange and Pioneer, from the time when both firms were owned by HypoVereinsbank (HVB). The objective is to adapt the ETF product range, beyond simple products, to include genuine asset allocation and effective risk management, which is a concept of interest to a growing number of investors. This area forms the particular niche fo the new management firm Avana (see Newsmanagers of 6 February), which uses a trend-monitoring model applicable to all asset classes for which ETFs are available.Each partner will bring its own expertise to the the announced partnership: Lyxor AM (Société Générale group) is one of the foremost European issuers of ETFs, while Avana is an asset manager and risk manager, and SGSS Germany will provide its expertise in the area of fund administration; it currently administers 550 funds with assets of EUR55bn.
05/03/2009

France - ETF Securities debuts on French ETF market

ETF Securities, a specialist in Exchange Traded Commodities (ETC), has announced the launch in France of an ETF platform which replicates the performance of sectoral indices of shares in companies active in the commodities sector. 13 new ETFs will be listed on NextTrack, the segment of NYSE-Euronext dedicated to ETFs.
05/03/2009

United Kingdom - Old Mutual plans to simplify structure

Julian Roberts, the new CEO of Old Mutual, has announced a ?simplification? of the group ?as soon as the financial environment will allow it,? the Financial Times reports. Some investors would like to see the firm dismantled, and particularly a separation of South African and international activities, the newspaper observes.
05/03/2009

Spain - Santander avoided closure of Banif Inmobiliario in November

It is now apparent that there were troubles at the Bantander Banif Inmobiliario fund as early as November 2008. Expansión reports that Santander has admitted that at that time, it injected EUR160m, or 3.42% of assets in the fund, to avoid freezing the fund after it received redemption demands totalling EUR500m at the end of its last redemption window in 2008. The bank covered all the redemption demands it could with available cash, totalling about EUR400m, and invested its own equity in the fund to make up the difference and keep up with redemption demands. It has since submitted its own redemption demand, and will recuperate its own money at the same time as other subscribers. Santander also announced on Wednesday that it is planning to take onto its own books some of the shares which will be redeemed to clients on 9 May.
05/03/2009

World - Emerging markets outperform developed markets in February

In February, emerging markets suffered less than equities markets in developed countries. The Russell Emerging Markets Index posted a loss of 5.6% for the month, compared with -10.1% for the Russell Developed Index. Among emerging countries, the Chinese and Brazilian countries performed particularly well.
05/03/2009

Germany - Positive month for fund management in January

In January, net subscriptions to funds on sale in Germany totalled EUR13.92bn, the best results of the past six years, except in 2007 (EUR15.4bn). This total compares to only EUR5.3bn in December, and EUR9.76bn in January 2008. Of this total, open-ended funds attracted EUR78.36bn, compared with EUR3.97bn the previous month, and EUR7.12bn one year previously. All categories of products within securities funds posted net inflows in January, except guaranteed funds (-EUR141.6m). The strongest net subscriptions were to equities funds, with EUR4.04bn, and bond funds, with nearly EUR1.5bn.
05/03/2009

Europe - Record subscriptions to gold funds in 2008

In 2008, gold funds posted net subscriptions in Europe of EUR2bn, more than 17 times their levels in 2007, according to Lipper FMI.The increased demand for the funds comes in the context of a global ?gold rush.? According to the World Gold Council, demand for investments in gold, including ETFs, ingots, and coins, was 64% higher last year than in 2007. In the first months of this year, demand has grown even stronger, which has driven the price of gold above the psychologically significant threshold of USD1,000 per ounce.Management firms have sought to catch this wave, with 11 new funds launched in 2008, bringing the total number of products available to 62. Assets nonetheless declined slightly to slightly under EUR10bn, due to falling equities markets.Last year, the largest fund invested in physical gold, which has been the subject of a major rebound in interest, was released in Germany by Hansainvest. The fund allows investors to redeem their investment in the form of gold ingots.Aside from this originality, the majority of funds are products invested in shares in gold mines, Lipper states. A minority of funds are commodities products.The five most popular funds last year were the ZKB Gold ETF, which posted net subscriptions of EUR1.4bn, BlackRock Gold & General, LCL Actions Or Monde, Julius Baer Precious Metals ? Physical Gold, and BlackRock Global ? World Gold. In terms of assets, the dominant management firm in this area was BlackRock, with 50.3% of assets un 2008, followed by Swisscanto in distant second place (21.8%).
05/03/2009

World - Crisis obliges pension funds to rethink strategies

Tom Geragthy, global partner in charge of investment at Mercer, has reported at a forum in Madrid that a survey of 1,000 clients worldwide has shown that 85% of pension funds are expecting performance and activities to continue to decline this year, Funds People reports. This has led 76% of directors surveyed to revise the composition of portfolios; 67% say they are now disposed to include hedge funds as a part of their investments. Managers are seeking simplicity, which could vindicate pension funds specialized in money markets, since many products have suffered losses because they had ?problematic? assets. Meanwhile, 85% of respondents are planning to improve the training of employees at pension funds, while 77% are planning to revise their commission grid.Mercer says that the approximately EUR700bn invested in pension or corporate retirement savings funds in Europe are one third invested in equities and 60% invested in bonds, while the remainder is invested in alternative assets.
05/03/2009

United States - Oppenheimer recruits chief US strategist from Merrill

Brian G. Belski, the chief US strategist at Merrill Lynch, will join Oppenheimer Funds as chief investment strategist, a position which has been vacant since the decease last summer of Michael Metz. John E. Parks, director of research at Oppenheimer, states that the high media profile which Belski already enjoys will make him an ideal spokesman for the management firm in the media on questions related to markets, sectors, and investment strategies.
05/03/2009

Italy - Regulator calls for transparency in distribution of products with low liquidity

Consob, the Italian securities commission, has published new rules governing transparency and procedures for the distribution of illiquid financial products to retail investors by third parties. By illiquid products, the regulator means bank bonds, insurance products, and derivatives.?The statement recommends that intermediaries provide the client with information about the correct value and fees for the illiquid product being sold, and present comparisons with simple and well-known products, in order to facilitate decision-making. ? The document emphasizes the necessity for the intermediary to have profound knowledge of the client’s preferences, with particular attention to the investment horizon,? says Consob.
05/03/2009

Germany - ETFs account for two thirds of net inflows in January

Net subscriptions to funds on sale in Germany in January totalled EUR13.92bn, compared with EUR5.3bn in December, and EUR9.76bn one year earlier.Of this total, net inflows to securities funds totalled EUR7.57bn, compared with EUR3.11bn the previous month, and EUR5.75bn one year previously. The three major ETF issuers brought in net totals of EUR2.06bn (Barclays Global Investors or BGI); more than EUR1.83bn for ETFlab (Deka), and EUR1.1bn for db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank). This adds up to an overall total of nearly EUR5bn, or 66%, and this does not include results from ComStage, the ETF affiliate of Commerzbank.
04/03/2009

Europe - Le guichet obligataire tourne à fond pour les états de l'Euroland

Selon La Tribune, en deux mois, environ 20% des besoins de financement annuels des économies de l’Euroland ont déjà été satisfaits et, selon Calyon, les états devraient encore émettre 72 milliards d’euros d'émissions de dettes à moyen et long terme durant ce mois de mars.Toutefois, «la période pourrait être particulièrement sensible pour les pays dont la dette n’est pas assez liquide», estime le quotidien selon lequel les investisseurs commencent à montrer des signes de fatigue comme le prouve notamment l’appétence modérée pour les dernières émissions de dette bancaire autrichienne.
04/03/2009

Europe - La BCE et la BoE devraient baisser leurs taux

Selon l’Agefi,La BCE et la BoE devraient annoncer une baisse respective de leurs de taux de 50 points de base, demain, lors de leurs réunions de politique monétaire. Du coup, la garde de la BCE reviendra à 1,5% et celle de la BoE à 0,5%. Par ailleurs, les deux banques centrales pourraient aussi indiquer quels " instruments non conventionnels» elles comptent utiliser pour soutenir le marché.
04/03/2009

Europe - Euroclear trouve dix partenaires pour promouvoir Fundsettle

Euroclear a indiqué avoir conclu un partenariat avec dix grandes sociétés de gestion (AllianceBernstein, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Invesco, JPMorgan Asset Management, Pictet Asset Management, Pioneer Investments, Robeco Asset Management, Schroders Investment Management, Société Générale Asset Management etVirmont SARL, l’ancienne Alken Asset Management) pour promouvoir par des mesures incitatives l’automatisation de leurs transactions par les 50 % de distributeurs qui n’utilisent pas encore la plate-forme de traitement et de règlement STP FundSettle d’Euroclear. Un traitement entièrement automatisé des transactions sur les fonds permettrait au secteur de la gestion d’actifs d'économiser environ 300 millions d’euros par an, estime Euroclear. Toutes les activités d’asset servicing et de conservation seront gratuites pour les distributeurs qui donneront suite à la nouvelle offre FundSettle. Les distributeurs de fonds utilisant le service automatisé STP de FundSettle paient 75 cents par transaction pour le routage et le règlement d’un ordre d’achat ou de vente, contre une commission moyenne de 7 euros. De plus, les distributeurs peuvent rationaliser leur back-office en utilisant un point d’accès unique à FundSettle et en réduisant leur niveau de risque grâce à l’automatisation.
04/03/2009

Espagne - Moody's abaisse les notes de Gas Natural et de Fenosa

Les notes long terme de Gas Natural et d’Unión Fenosa ont été abaissées par Moody’s à Baa1 contre A3, tout en les maintenant sous surveillance avec implication négative ; S&P et Fitch Ratings ont eux aussi récemment abaissé la note de Gas Naturel. A court terme, les notes Moody’s restent à Prime 2.La dégradation est expliquée par l’acquisition des 35,4 % de Fenosa détenus par ACS par Gas Natural ainsi que par l’OPA que ce dernier doit lancer sur le reliquat de la compagnie d'électricité. Cela va augmenter «substantiellement» l’endettement de Gas natural par rapport aux 5,1 milliards d’euros de fin décembre, alors que le passif actuel d’unión Fenosa est déjà de l’ordre de 6,7 milliards d’euros. La dette du groupe fusionné, après la transaction, atteindre en effet quelque 26 milliards d’euros.
04/03/2009

Allemagne - Munich Ré renonce à son objectif de bénéfice

Vu la crise financière, Munich Ré devient encore plus prudent ; le réassureur a renoncé mardi à son objectif d’un bénéfice par action de 18 euro pour 2010 et il s’est abstenu de toute prévision pour 2009, son président se bornant à estimer que le résultat ne sera pas dans le rouge, rapporte la Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Néanmoins, le directeur financier vise toujours un rendement de 15 % sur le capital à risque mais le rendement des capitaux investis sera nettement inférieur à 4,5 %. Et Munich Ré continue de racheter ses propres actions. Sinon, il investit en obligations et la part des actions dans son portefeuille est tombée à seulement 3,6 % fin 2008 contre 11,4 % fin juin. Si l’on compte les opérations de couverture, la part des actions est même réduite à 1,7 %. Il a quand même fallu passer pour 7 milliards d’euros de dépréciations d’actifs sur le portefeuille

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