European News in Brief
October 2009
BNY Mellon has received a banking licence
in Ireland following approval from the Irish Financial Regulator. The
new entity, The Bank of New York Mellon (Ireland) Limited, reinforces
BNY Mellon’s commitment to Ireland and provides strategic growth
opportunities for its business. BNY Mellon is now permitted to provide
a range of banking services to institutional clients and the broader market,
and will expand on the range of capabilities it can offer Ireland to local
and global clients.
Ortec Finance has been chosen by Skandinaviska
Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) to provide performance evaluation via
its PEARL solution. The global provider of technology and advisory services
for risk and return management will address SEB’s specific requirement
that any new system be able to address investment decision levels and
structure above the mandate level and their related PA methods.
On the basis of unaudited estimates, the net annualised
performance of the Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites
(FRR) is +12.8 per cent, constructed of -6.5 per cent for the first quarter,
+10.5 per cent for the second quarter, and +9.2 per cent for the third
quarter. Annualised performance, net of all financial and administrative
operating expenses, since inception in June 2004 is +2.6 per cent. At
30 September 2009, the total assets for the FRR was €31.9bn, with
assets invested in equities, real estate and commodities (totally 49.5
per cent), and fixed income and cash assets amounting to 50.5 per cent.
Lyxor has launched the Lyxor/Tudor Momentum Fund
Ltd, replicating the Tudor Momentum Portfolio Ltd strategy, the
Trend Following Component of the Tudor Tensor quantitative managed futures
program.
Almary Green Investments has merged with Hopkinson Financial Consultancy, a specialist in financial and investment advice for employers and business owners, in the latest phase of its expansion. Hopkinson has more than 400 clients based across East Anglia and has £25million in funds under management. The deal builds upon Almary Green’s expansion strategy across East Anglia and the South-East since 2001, and it now serves more than 5,000 clients with £150million of funds under management.
Crédit Agricole S.A. and Société
Générale have unveiled their combined asset management
arm, Amundi. The joint venture, which was signed on 9 July, takes its
name from the initials of ‘asset management’ and represents
the combined international openness of a company that is already among
the top ten global players, and an openness to other partners who may
wish to join the platform. The Latin origin of Amundi also, the companies
said, refers back to the group’s European roots. Amundi has €650bn
in assets under management.
KAS BANK has recorded higher profits for the first nine
months of 2009 compared to 2008, and is on track to meet its external
profit targets. The bank’s latest figures show that, despite a sharp
decline in securities lending the first nine months of 2009 showed no
change in revenue compared to the same period in 2008. KAS BANK maintained
a low risk profile with a solvency (BIS) ratio of around 21 per cent,
and surplus liquidity of €1.6bn relative to the minimum set by the
Financial Supervision Act. The bank’s purchase of the Deutsche Postbank
fund administration, has migrated to the KAS BANK platform in Germany,
and it is expected that new clients will be serviced via the German platform
in 2010.
Following the development and establishment of the Later Life
Adviser Accreditation (LLAA) scheme, the Financial Services
Skills Council (FSSC) has transferred the scheme to the recently
formed Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) with immediate
effect. The FSSC will continue to endorse the scheme and a member of the
council will chair the LLAA accreditation panel. The FSSC will audit the
scheme’s standards for quality purposes. The FSSC launched the LLAA
scheme in April 2008 in collaboration with SVARfair, a financial consultancy,
and was established to recognise advisers who provide advice in the older
client market.
Towry Law has acquired Edward Jones Limited,
a UK independent financial advice and investment firm. Edward Jones Limited
is the UK subsidiary of US-based firm, Edward D Jones & Co L.P., and
has a nationwide presence serving 50,000 clients. The acquisition is subject
to FSA approval, and is a step for Towry Law towards becoming the major
independent ‘fee based’ wealth advisory firm in the UK. Edward
Jones Limited will be integrated into Towry Law and will operate on a
fee-only basis in line with Towry Law’s existing strategy.
Hedge funds and private equity houses should prepare for a backlash following the financial crisis, warned Rob van Kuijk, CEO at Finles Capital Management, at a seminar in Utrecht. This warning was reinforced by Roland van den Brink, board member at Mn Services, who added: “There is pressure on governments and at the EU-level for more regulation of the alternative investments industry. There is going to need to be greater transparency and pension boards will have to know what they are investing in. Returns, risks and rewards will have to be better balanced, with less complexity and more sense and simplicity, so what you see is what you get.”
Credit Suisse has announced the expansion
of its Credit Suisse Xmtch, its exchange traded funds (ETF) range, with
its launch in Italy. The last eight years have seen Credit Suisse grow
its ETF business to become the leading provider in Switzerland, with €6.0bn
in assets under management in its Xmtch ETF products. The launch builds
upon the Bank’s plans to expand across Europe.
Financial advice software provider Distribution Technology
has launched its At Retirement Planner, which has been deployed for AEGON
Scottish Equitable. The planner helps advisers to advise their
clients on retirement options and appropriate asset mixes for pensions
decumulation by using stochastic analysis. The first tool of its type
to combine critical yield analysis with stochastic projections and suitability
scoring, the At Retirement Planner supports AEGON’s position as
a market leader in providing unsecured pension products.
The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational
Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) has published an overview of legal
requirements under the institutions for occupational retirement provision
(IORP) Directive, which is based on a selection of topics relating to
the relevant national social and labour law provisions, investment restrictions
and information requirements. The overview is available here.
Xafinity Paymaster has started live trading with fund
managers using the Altus Instruction Gateway and the ViaNova market practice.
ViaNova allows pension administrators to send investment instructions
to fund managers over the SWIFT secure financial messaging network, meaning
they provide a more efficient service to clients with reduced risks in
comparison to manual processing. The announcement comes less than eight
weeks after Xafinity Paymaster revealed their Straight-Through Processing
(STP) initiative.
The Pensions Regulator has released a new form to capture recovery
plan data, the valuation summary form, which is sent to the regulator
alongside a recovery plan. The form will make it easier for the review
of recovery plans, and will also bring mortality information into line
with the scheme return. The Regulator’s approach to defined benefit
(DB) pensions, however, will remain unchanged.
AEGON Global Pensions
has extended its multi-client asset pooling solution to France, with Arial
assurance, part of the AG2R LA MONDIALE Group’s initial investment
of €52million into AEGON Global Multi Manager Funds. The funds fall
under the management of AEGON subsidiary, TKP Investments. Patrice Bonin,
head of pension sales at AG2R LA MONDIALE Group, said: “We selected
the AEGON Global Multi-Manager Funds as they not only meet the specific
needs of today’s pension markets but also enable companies to make
the most of international developments in pensions for the future.”
In a survey by Janus Capital Group, the Consumer
Finance Survey, 74 per cent of French respondents do not think they
are saving enough for retirement, compared with just 27 per cent of the
Dutch participants. Eighty per cent of Dutch respondents are also prepared
to work past the age of 60, compared with just 51 per cent of Italians.
“The big surprise is that country risk is still alive and well in
Europe,” commented David Bowers, joint managing director, Absolute
Strategy Research. “The Janus Capital survey suggests that the shock
of the credit crunch has not fallen evenly on European households. Indeed,
it may have exacerbated national differences in household balance sheets,
particularly within the eurozone.”
Mercer has opened a new state-of-the-art
customer relations centre to support members of its clients’ pension
schemes in the UK. Based in Chichester, the new centre will have extended
operating hours, dedicated multi-skilled professionals and innovative
approaches to customer services. The team will also support Mercer’s
online benefits system, One View.
Matrix-Data Solutions has launched Financial-Clarity,
a new business intelligence solution for the UK financial services market.
The financial services business intelligence specialist has launched the
solution to provide fund managers, life companies, fund supermarkets and
wrap platforms with an insight into their intermediary sales, marketing
and distribution operations. It also aims to help management plan distribution
strategies to ensure they can evolve their business strategies following
the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the changing Intermediary landscape.
Neptune Investment Management has joined up with Skandia
International to enable the distribution of two Neptune funds via Skandia
platforms. The Neptune US Opportunities Fund and the Neptune Russia and
Greater Russia Fund are now available to international advisers through
both the Royal Skandia and Skandia Finland platforms.
Financial services and professional services PR company
Broadgate is to merge with retail financial services
agency Mainland, creating Broadgate Mainland.
The company, which will not experience any staff changes to any current
client account teams, will be based in Broadgate’s current offices
in Basinghall Street, and the merger is expected to be completed with
rebranding by mid-October.
Unione di Banche Italiane scpa (UBI Banca) has agreed
to transfer its depositary bank business to RBC Dexia Investor
Services. UBI Banca has over €19bn in assets under custody,
mainly related to the fund management activities of UBI Banca’s
subsidiary UBI Pramerica, and will receive custody and settlement services
from RBC Dexia.
Aviva has opened its Pension Tracker up to more than
one million customers and 8,000 group pension schemes, available online.
In October, Aviva will also launch a national TV advertising campaign
to promote pensions and pensions planning. The Aviva Pension Tracker is
available at www.aviva.co.uk/controlyourpension.
