UniCredit could rebuild fund business with Banco BPM acquisition

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November 25, 2024

For the first time since selling its asset management arm to French fund management giant Amundi seven years ago, Unicredit will now have a substantial base from which to rebuild an in-house asset management business.

UniCredit has launched a €10 billion voluntary public exchange offer for all shares of Banco BPM. If carried out, the acquisition will make UniCredit the third largest European bank by market cap.

But the real prize could be in asset management. Banco BPM is in the process of buying out asset management firm Anima Holding (€200 billion AUM), seeking to increase its 22% ownership to at least 67% and take the firm private. UniCredit’s notice of its bid for the bank stated that it “takes note” of this offer.

The subsequent acquisition of Anima could put UniCredit in conflict with Amundi (approximately €2.2 trillion AUM), which bought its asset management arm, Pioneer Investments, in 2017. The contract between the two, a shared partnership for the distribution of asset management products across Italy, Germany and Austria, runs until 2027. Amundi was not mentioned in the bid notice.

The bank has offered a consideration of 175 newly-issued ordinary UniCredit shares for each 1,000 Banco BPM shares tendered. In total, BPM’s share capital is equal to 1,515,182,126 issuer’s shares. UniCredit has determined the BPM reference price to be €6.657 per share, which includes a 0.5% premium.

Banco BPM will be incorporated into UniCredit regardless of whether its shares can be immediately delisted from Euronext Milan, the latter said, although this would be preferable. Prioritising speed will allow the bank to more rapidly achieve the transaction’s industrial and strategic goals, it explained.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Eugene Budovsky to lead Goldman’s Australian electronic trading division

By

Lucy Carter

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November 25, 2024

Eugene Budovsky, Australia head of GSET, Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has appointed Eugene Budovsky as head of Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading (GSET) Australia.

GSET offers algorithms, smart order routing, sponsored access, alternative trading system and multilateral trading facility liquidity and other products aiming to facilitate global liquidity access across equity markets.

Budovsky has more than 15 years of industry experience and most recently served as head of equities execution platforms at Barrenjoey. Prior to this, he spent five years with Credit Suisse as head of low touch execution for Australia and, later, the wider APAC region. Earlier in his career, he was a director for equity trading at Deutsche Bank.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Barclays fined £40m over 2008 capital raising

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Lucy Carter

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November 25, 2024

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, FCA

Barclays has received a £40 million fine from the FCA, with the regulator stating that its 2008 capital raising was “reckless and lacking integrity”.

Between June and October 2008, Barclays received investments from “certain Qatari entities” during capital raising, the FCA reported. At the same time, Barclays entered two advisory agreements with one of the entities totalling £322 million. “These payments were calculated specifically by reference to the Qataris’ financial demands for investing in the capital raisings, not the value of the advisory services that Barclays expected to receive under the agreements,” the FCA stated in its 2022 decision notice on the matter.

Barclays disclosed the first advisory agreement in June 2008, but not the second, during emergency recapitalisation in October. The connections of these agreements to its capital raising and the Qatari entities which invested were not shared, information which the FCA said would have been highly relevant to shareholders, investors and the wider market.

The payments more than doubled what Barclays had disclosed as paid to the Qatari entities for their participation in the June and October capital raising rounds.

The FCA first issued warning notices to Barclays in 2013, before the case was paused due to pending criminal proceedings. It was resumed in 2020, with the FCA publishing its final decision on the case in October 2022. The fine has been reduced since this decision, having been initially valued at £50 million.

Given that the incident took place during the Global Financial Crisis, “the FCA recognises that this case concerns disclosure decisions made in the context of very large and complex capital raisings that took place many years ago under considerable market pressure,” it said.

“Barclays is a very different organisation today, having implemented change across the business,” added Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the regulator.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Yung-Shin Kung joins Manteio

By

Lucy Carter

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November 25, 2024

Yung-Shin Kung, partner, head and chief investment officer, Manteio Capital

Systematic investment management firm Manteio Capital has named Yung-Shin Kung as a partner, head and chief investment officer.

This follows UBS Asset Management’s transfer of its quantitative investment strategies (QIS) business (US$1.5 billion AUM) to the firm in August. Kung, who has been managing director, head and chief investment officer for QIS at UBS since 2009, is continuing in his role.

Kung has more than 25 years of industry experience, and has also been a director at Merrill Lynch and a vice president and Credit Suisse Alternative Capital.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Matt Somma joins Piper Sandler

By

Lucy Carter

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November 22, 2024

Piper Sandler investment bank has appointed Matt Somma as a managing director of its financial services group.

The firm reported US$241 million in investment banking revenue in Q3 2024, up 12% year-on-year.

Based in New York, Somma is responsible for advising asset and wealth management firms on M&A transactions and capital raises. He will also advise family offices and their portfolio companies on strategic alternatives.

He reports to Bill Burgess and Scott Clark, co-heads of investment banking, and joins division leader Aaron Dorr, managing director and head of asset and wealth management investment banking.

“[Somma] is one of the most well-connected bankers in the family office and private wealth management industry and will be a great complement to our current team,” Burgess and Scott commented.

Somma has more than 20 years of industry experience and joins Piper Sandler from Truist Securities, where he was a managing director in the private institutional capital group. Before this, he was a founding partner and head of business development at multi-family office Cresset Capital and covered New York, London and Hong Kong family offices at JP Morgan.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Gensler confirmed to depart SEC

By

Dan Barnes

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November 22, 2024

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that its 33rd Chair, Gary Gensler, will step down from the Commission effective at 12:00 pm on 20 January 2025.

Gensler began his tenure on 17 April 2021, in the immediate aftermath of the GameStop market events. He led the agency through a rulemaking agenda designed to enhance efficiency, resiliency, and integrity in the US capital markets. He also oversaw enforcement cases to hold wrongdoers accountable and return billions to harmed investors.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission is a remarkable agency,” said Chair Gensler. “The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honour of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.

During Chair Gensler’s tenure, the SEC adopted changes to the US$28 trillion US Treasury markets. To try and lower cost and risk in the Treasury markets, the agency adopted rules to promote central clearing and narrow circumstances in which broker-dealers are exempt from national securities association registration. These reforms could lower risk and enhance efficiency throughout the entirety of the US capital markets.

Under Chair Gensler, the SEC unanimously made updates to the National Market System so that stocks can be traded more efficiently with narrower spreads and lower fees. Improvements also include shortening the settlement cycle to one day, which should be good for investors and lowers risk in the market. Further, the agency unanimously adopted rules to update information regarding brokers’ execution quality. These reforms potentially benefit investors by making equity markets more efficient.

“I thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favour,” he said. “I’ve greatly enjoyed working with my fellow Commissioners, Allison Herren Lee, Elad Roisman, Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Jaime Lizárraga. I also thank Congress, my colleagues across the US government, and fellow regulators around the world.”

Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga said, “It has been an honour to serve with Chair Gensler. Over the past 25 years that I’ve known and worked with Gary, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service. At the SEC, he advanced an agenda that strengthened investor protections and the resiliency of our capital markets. I am proud of all that we accomplished together on behalf of the investing public and wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Bridgewater and SSGA launch ETF as alt demand grows

By

Lucy Carter

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November 21, 2024

Karen Karniol-Tambour, co-chief operating officer, Bridgewater Associates

Bridgewater Associates is launching an actively-managed retail ETF in partnership with State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) as demand for alternatives continues to rise. The hedge fund, which has approximately US$124 billion AUM as of November 2024, was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975.

A registration statement for the SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETF was filed with the SEC on 19 November, with the proposal that it will become effective after 75 days.

ETFs and alternatives are of increasing interest to institutional investors globally, with SSGA’s 2024 ETF Impact Report noting that 45% intend to increase their allocations to alternatives in the next year. In the US, 41% of financial advisors said they would encourage their clients to do the same.

“[The fund] seeks to achieve long term capital appreciation,” the filing states, combining long and short exposure to various asset classes and markets, domestically and internationally, both directly and through derivative instruments. This will create “an overall portfolio that is intended to be resilient across a wide range of market conditions and environments”, the report continued.

An “environmental balance” diversification approach, allocating to assets it expects to outperform in both rising and falling growth and inflation conditions, will ensure investment objectives are met regardless of economic conditions, the firm said.

Karen Karniol-Tambour, co-chief operating officer at Bridgewater, commented: “we see global investors increasingly focused on portfolio resiliency and desiring durable client portfolios amidst a coming investing era that is likely to be very different from the last. We believe a diversified asset allocation is a great step in preparing for the future.”

SSGA will buy and sell securities and instruments on the fund’s behalf, based on Bridgewater’s recommendations.

©Markets Media Europe 2024

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Daemon Bear joins Olivetree

By

Lucy Carter

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November 21, 2024

Daemon Bear, co-head of sales trading, Olivetree Group

Olivetree Group has appointed Daemon Bear as co-head of sales trading.

Based in London, he will work alongside Tim Emmott, head of equity sales trading.

Bear has more than 25 years of industry experience and has been an independent consultant for almost five years. Prior to this he was business development manager at BGC’s equity and fixed income brokerage firm MINT Partners, and head of EMEA trading and sales trading at State Street.

He has also held senior roles at ICAP, as CEO of BlockCross MTF, and JP Morgan Asset Management, as EMEA head of equity and derivative trading.

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Liontrust pivots strategy as profits drop

By

Lucy Carter

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November 21, 2024

Following a 28% drop in profits over H1 2024, Liontrust Asset Management has enlisted BNY’s Data Vault, BlackRock’s Aladdin and FlexTrade’s FlexTRADER execution management system (EMS) to improve its operating model.

Through the new integrated front-office solution, Liontrust aims to improve its investment and risk tools, data management and reporting capabilities and allow the business to scale.

In a further bid to improve efficiency and conserve resources, CEO John Ions announced in the firm’s half-year results that Liontrust plans to cut 25 staff roles over the coming months and close four funds that are not receiving sufficient demand.

In the first half of the year, Liontrust’s gross profits were £81.1 million; down from 2023’s £98.6 million. Assets under management and advice were £26 billion, down 6% year-on-year from H1 2023’s £27.7 billion.

“The last six months have continued the challenging period for active managers, however we are confident that we are moving into a more positive environment and the outlook is improving,” Ions stated. Lower inflation and interest rates will help the firm to boost its investment strategies, he explained, accelerated by distribution expansions and diversified product offerings. The company is also launching a share buyback programme of up to £5 million, which will be in place until 31 March 2025

“We believe in active management and the long-term power of our investment processes,” Ions concluded.

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Ryan Royce to join Citadel

By

Lucy Carter

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November 21, 2024

Citadel has appointed Ryan Royce as a portfolio manager within its global equities unit, effective mid-2025.

Based in New York, Royce will focus on the consumer sector. He will report to Justin Lubell, head of the global equities business.

Royce has more than a decade of industry experience and joins Citadel from Holocene Advisors, where he has been an investor since March 2022. He left the firm this month.

Prior to this, he was a senior analyst at Segantii Capital Management, an analyst at Millennium and an equity research associate at BMO Capital Markets.

Citadel declined to comment on the appointment.

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For the first time since selling its asset management arm to French fund management giant Amundi seven years ago, Unicredit will now have a substantial base from which to rebuild an in-house asset management business.

Goldman Sachs has appointed Eugene Budovsky as head of Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading (GSET) Australia.

Barclays has received a £40 million fine from the FCA, with the regulator stating that its 2008 capital raising was “reckless and lacking integrity”.

Systematic investment management firm Manteio Capital has named Yung-Shin Kung as a partner, head and chief investment officer.

Piper Sandler investment bank has appointed Matt Somma as a managing director of its financial services group.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that its 33rd Chair, Gary Gensler, will step down from the Commission effective at 12:00 pm on 20 January 2025.

Bridgewater Associates is launching an actively-managed retail ETF in partnership with State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) as demand for alternatives continues to rise. The hedge fund, which has approximately US$124 billion AUM as of November 2024, was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975.

Olivetree Group has appointed Daemon Bear as co-head of sales trading.

Following a 28% drop in profits over H1 2024, Liontrust Asset Management has enlisted BNY’s Data Vault, BlackRock’s Aladdin and FlexTrade’s FlexTRADER execution management system (EMS) to improve its operating model.

Citadel has appointed Ryan Royce as a portfolio manager within its global equities unit, effective mid-2025.

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