Citywire's research team summarises the funds stories making the news around Europe.
Germany
In an interview with FAZ, Klaus Kaldemorgen, head of DWS, criticises Porsche and questions whether the company should be charged with manipulating the market over the recent Volkswagen affair. One of the most resepcted figures in the German investment industry, Kaldemorgen has a reputation for taking a tough line with company management when he feels they are on the wrong track.
According to the latest economic data, Germany is now in recession, Handelsblatt reports. The GDP is forecast to fall by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of the year. The downturn is expected to continue during 2009.
Fund groups have had to make cuts to their budgets owing to the financial crisis, Handelsblatt reports. Fidelity has announced job losses in Germany.
State bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg has estimated its losses at around €350 million from Icelandic investments, Fonds Professionell reports.
Spain
The Spanish government has launched Socimis, a similar investment vehicle to REITs, to enable the banks to package debt linked to property projects and sell it to third parties, Cotizalia reports. To make the offer more attractive, Socimis are exempt from income tax.
Santander plans to sell 1.6 billion of new ordinary shares to raise capital, Expansión reports. The bank expects to sell each share at €4.50, so the overall amount raised will be €7.2 billion.
In an interview with Cinco Días, Nigel Bolton, manager of the Blackrock Global Funds European fund, has said the bargains we’re currently enjoying only occur once in 30 years.
Swedish
Böös & Enblad, the new largest share holders of Carnegie have presented a plan to the Swedish financial authorities to ensure stability and guarantee the company's financing, Affärsvärlden reports. The programme consists of a new issue of shares, in two parts, worth around SEK1.2 billion (€120 million). The first part, worth SEK 400 million (€40 million), will be to a new major shareholder and the second part is a rights issue, of SEK775 million (€78 million), available to existing shareholders.
A joint survey conducted by Gallup and Nordea Life and Pension shows that Swedish people born in the 80s are the age group worried most about their pensions, E24 reports.
According to Swedish Mutual Fund Association Fondbolagens, investors withdrew SEK4.4 billion (€450 million) from mutual funds last month, E24 reports. That is 0.3% of the total assets under management. However, this amount is smaller than September's.
France
Credit Agricole Asset Management is increasing its operations in the far east by opening CAAM Malaysia, News-Banques reports.
Switzerland
UBS is planning to review its remunerations policy, Le Temps reports.
Italy
Despite increasingly bleak outlooks, the international financial panic has not hit Italy and Spain as hard as other European nations, La Times reports. Analysts say the reasons for this range from the prudence and discipline of institutions and individuals, to the existence of large informal economies.
Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Unicredit Group, was today elected president of the European Banking Federation by its Board, Blue TG reports. As of January 2009, he will succeed Michel Pébereau, Chairman of BNP Paribas, whose mandate ends at the end of December.
Azimut has seen net inflows into managed assets decrease by €110 million in October compared to last year. However with only 0.8% of the previous year's outflows, Azimut confirms its tenure.
UK
Pension funds and other institutional investors are turning away from active equity managers as they look again at their strategies following the past 15 months of market tumoil, FT reports.
UK asset managers are beginning to incorporate responsible investment strategies into their investment decisions, but progress is still slow and sporadic, FT reports