Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Reuters – Julius Baer would consider buys at home and abroad, the Swiss group, a possible buyer of Dutch rival ING Group NV’s private banking assets, said on Friday, although its shares slid sharply after the release of new financial targets.
The chief executive of Switzerland’s third-biggest bank, Boris Collardi, said in slides for an investor presentation that Europe remained the wealth manager’s key strategic market but it aimed “to further build Asia as its second home market”.
Shares in the company dropped 6 percent, however, as analysts said the new financial targets for the private bank were too conservative and those for its asset management arm too ambitious.
Reuters – The fund management arm of Swedish banking group SEB is planning to launch a global credit hedge fund in the autumn to take advantage of mis-pricing opportunities in the credit markets.
Peter Branner, global head of investment management at SEB, said the fund would use leverage and take long and short positions in the investment grade and high yield credit markets where the turbulence of the financial crisis has thrown up undervalued and overvalued assets.
SEB will target institutional and private banking clients for the fund, he told Reuters at the Fund Forum industry conference.
Reuters – Integrated Asset Management said on Wednesday it is repositioning as a pure play brokerage business after agreeing to sell a 51 percent stake in its French fund of hedge funds business.
The firm, listed on London’s AIM market, is selling the stake in Altigefi to Sal. Oppenheim in a deal which will also see the private banking group exit as Integrated’s major shareholder.
The move is evidence of smaller asset management players being forced to reexamine their business models as the financial crisis changes the market place. A spokesman said Integrated’s decision to concentrate on brokerage came because it had become more and more difficult to achieve the scale thought necessary to successfully run a fund of funds business.
Reuters – Integrated Asset Management said on Wednesday it is repositioning as a pure play brokerage business after agreeing to sell a 51 percent stake in its French fund of hedge funds business.
The firm, listed on London’s AIM market, is selling the stake in Altigefi to Sal. Oppenheim in a deal which will also see the private banking group exit as Integrated’s major shareholder.
The move is evidence of smaller asset management players being forced to reexamine their business models as the financial crisis changes the market place. A spokesman said Integrated’s decision to concentrate on brokerage came because it had become more and more difficult to achieve the scale thought necessary to successfully run a fund of funds business.
Bloomberg - Banco Santander SA’s hedge fund unit used risk software that according to its developer may have “waved red flags” about Bernard Madoff investments.
“You definitely would have seen it,” Riskdata SA Chief Executive Officer Ingmar Adlerberg said in a phone interview from Paris. Many of the company’s 80 customers have thanked it for flagging risks linked to Madoff, he said. He refused to name them or comment specifically on Santander.
Santander offered on Jan. 27 to pay 1.38 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to private banking clients hit by Madoff-related losses through the Spanish bank’s Optimal Investment Services hedge fund arm. Geneva-based Optimal said Riskdata’s FOFiX product was key to “quantitative risk analysis” for hedge fund investments in a 30-page due-diligence questionnaire filed last April with the Alternative Investment Management Association.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – U.S. authorities have officially declared Raoul Weil, formerly of UBS, a fugitive.
The one-time prominent business man and former chairman of UBS’s global wealth management unit, failed to surrender to police after being charged with aiding wealthy individuals in hiding their assets from the Internal Revenue Service.
According to the original complaint, Weil, who was based in Switzerland, headed a team of bankers that aimed to help 17,000 Americans hide about $20 billion via Swiss bank accounts, in hopes of avoiding U.S. taxes.
At that time, Weil worked in UBS’s cross-border private banking business. He stepped down from the bank when the charges were made public.
The order came yesterday in a Ft. Lauderdale courtroom, where Judge James Cohn officially removed Weil, 49, from the court’s pending case list and placed him on the clerk’s fugitive list.
If convicted, Weil faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Hedge fund manager, Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, has entered into an agreement with Credit Suisse to acquire their £40 billion ($58 billion) long-only asset management arm, making Aberdeen the the UK’s largest listed fund manager.
Credit Suisse sold the fund arm for approximately 240 million shares in Aberdeen, valued at £250 million ($363 million). The closing of the deal is to take place on 30 June 2009, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
Aberdeen’s largest hedge fund shareholder, Martin Hughes, Chief Executive of Toscafund, said, “Toscafund has already confirmed its support for this transformational acquisition, which has been made possible by the excellent operating platform offered by Aberdeen. Toscafund believes that the transaction is of clear benefit to the clients and shareholders of Aberdeen Asset Management and Credit Suisse.”
The acquired business is a long-only traditional asset manager with a leading presence in Europe, Asia and Australasia. It offers a broad product range, diversified predominantly across fixed income, money market and equities, with a variety of investment styles that will be integrated into Aberdeen’s investment processes. Its products are sold primarily to third party clients, with a significant minority of assets sourced through Credit Suisse’s Private Banking division, one of the world’s largest wealth managers.
Aberdeen has agreed an extension of the existing distribution agreement with Credit Suisse, this will give Aberdeen greater access to the banking network of Credit Suisse.
With the new acquisition, Aberdeen has opportunity to achieve greater scale in certain markets where the Group already has a presence, such as the UK, Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. The Acquisition will also strengthen Aberdeen’s offering in certain product areas
“The acquisition confirms Aberdeen’s position as a leading global asset manager and provides us with greater access to the distribution network of Credit Suisse and its Private Banking division, one of the world’s largest wealth managers." Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen, said, “This transaction fits perfectly within our strategy, a key part of which has been to make earnings enhancing acquisitions which give the business critical mass in our core competencies, complementing our organic growth."
“Given our proven track record of integrating businesses, we are well placed to ensure a smooth transition of the Credit Suisse assets to Aberdeen. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues and clients, and also to welcoming Credit Suisse as a significant shareholder in Aberdeen. We believe that this transaction will be for the long-term benefit of all our shareholders.”
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The Australian – Hedge funds who invested in Channel Nine’s owner PBL Media are unhappy about a rescue package to refinance the group’s $4.3 billion in debt, The Asian Wall Street Journal has reported.
Private equity group CVC Asia Pacific, the owner of 75 per cent of PBL Media, is "scrambling" to prevent PBL Media from defaulting on its $4.3 billion in debt, the paper said. If the group did default, PBL Media (the owner of Channel Nine and Australia’s largest magazine group ACP) could be placed in the hands of its bankers.
The Australian last week revealed CVC was trying to negotiate a rescue package, which included raising an extra $325 million from its banks, of which about $250 million would go towards repaying PBL’s debt.
PBL Media’s debt is held by nearly 40 creditors, including global banks and hedge funds.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Private-equity firm CVC Asia Pacific, who owns 75 percent of PBL Media, is trying to prevent the company from defaulting on its $4.3 billion in debt, according to the Asian Wall Street Journal.
PBL Media, the owner of massive Australian magazine group ACP and Australia’s Channel Nine, could be placed under the control of its bankers if they default on the debt; something CVC is frantically trying to stop.
According to an article in The Australian, PBL’s debt is distributed among almost 40 creditors, including many hedge funds and global banks. CVC is trying to formulate a rescue package that would include raising $325 million from its banks, $250 million of which would go directly to paying PBL Media’s debt.
The Asian Wall Street Journal also reported that several of the large banks might also be on board to stop the default "which could result in their having to take a charge against earnings for the bad loans.” These banks include UBS, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Calyon, ABN AMRO and several other Australian banks.
However, some of the hedge funds who are invested in PBL aren’t too thrilled about CVC’s rescue plan, which entails creditors granting PBL a “covenant holiday” of 18 months. The Journal stated that “because hedge funds are required to mark their investments to market every day, the funds have little to gain from the CVC plan.”
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Research and Markets announced the addition of a new report, "Asia-Pacific Capital Markets Handbook 2009".
With increased investment and stability in the region, the Asia-Pacific capital markets have experienced rapid growth over the past few years, with many markets emerging as key players in the global economy.
"The economic appetites of the Asian tigers are alive and well in the global economy of the 21st century," it says in the report, "In fact, Asia’s share of the global economy continues to grow at a feverish rate. Asia’s combined gross domestic product (GDP) was over US$5 trillion in 2007, doubling in constant dollar terms since 1998. Asia accounted for over 13% of global GDP in 2007, up over 40% from the 9% recorded in 1998. With this growth in economic activity we have seen unprecedented expansion into the capital markets by Asian countries."
The Asia-Pacific Capital Markets Handbook 2009 is a guide through the key areas of growth and provide you with an insight into the region. With editorial from key players in the industry and contributions from (among others) the Philippine, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean markets, this Handbook is a ‘must have’ tool for your work in the region, says Research and Markets.
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Interactive Investor - Man Group aims to win more business from big Asian investors such as pension funds and insurers even as global financial turmoil spurs some existing clients to redeem holdings and seek safety in cash.
The world’s largest listed hedge fund group recently hired an institutional salesperson in South Korea because of the potential it saw there and was studying the long-term opportunity in China, said Tim Rainsford, managing director, Asia Pacific for Man Investments.
"It’s certainly a challenging time. At the same time, the brakes are not on in the business. We will launch products when they’re appropriate," he told the Reuters Finance Summit on Monday.
The Australian – David Gray, UBS’s head of prime services in the Asia-Pacific, says: "In the next three months, people will make decisions about whether they want to continue their business that may prove uneconomic for them," Hong Kong-based Mr Gray said. "Fund managers are quite a hardy lot who don’t give up easily; they’ve gone through a couple of crises."
About 20 per cent of hedge funds in Asia, which underperformed rivals in the US and Europe, are profitable this year, according to Mr Gray. Their performance diverged from declines of 40 per cent to gains of 20 per cent, he said.
