Another issue of longterm improve their transparency

Work for these demanding customers, powerful and intimidating is not a sinecure, but managers who are able céderaient their place for the world. It is one of the lessons from a study of Gordon Clark and Ashby Monk from the University of Oxford, who interviewed nearly 150 managers, mainly Anglo-Saxon, maintaining relations with sovereign wealth funds (1). Goal To assess their perception of this type of atypical institutional investor in the light, inter alia, of the crisis.

Personal contacts

A polled three believes are funds fuelled by exports of raw materials that have been most affected by the crisis, and one on all types of funds were also affected. However, a large majority of the managers continue to think that these investors are always a boon and a manna for the asset management sector. They consider that it is capital-investment, then the large values, obligations and "hedge funds" which have been the asset classes (and their managers) who have most benefited from the flight of the market for sovereign wealth funds in the past. In the future (five years), they speculation that they will increase their investments in shares. Good news for scholarships because other institutional, otherwise most important, the insurers (weighing 23 of the world market of management, compared to 3.8 for sovereign wealth funds), should they reduce their investments in stock assets given regulatory constraints (Solvency II). On the other hand, sovereign wealth funds should walk away from the obligations of American State (Tbonds) or "hedge funds".

Despite the crisis, optimism is still. For evidence, a Manager on two anticipates that sovereign wealth funds will, in future, more delegate to external providers managing their assets, especially in the capital investment, infrastructure... To serve these demanding customers, managers recognize that personal contacts are decisive, including approach and conquer the SWFs in the Middle East and Asia. Build a relationship of trust takes time but, once selected, the Manager can long remain in place if he gives satisfaction. Example, the largest sovereign Fund, that of Abu Dhabi (Adia), does not in time its mandates. But it is not that management companies are not subjected to high pressure in the short term the performance...

Any education

However, professionals feel that the most relevant evaluation of the performance of such actors period is five years. Through their efforts over the past three years, management companies believe today that they have the resources, including human, sufficient to meet the needs of sovereign wealth funds. A Manager on two believes that it must go with them more time than with other types of investors to take advantage of its know-how and "educate".

A similar proportion said that sovereign actors are asking or other creative solutions and complex. Sovereign wealth funds have recruited many professionals following the crisis, to strengthen their resources, however, remaining according to the respondents, still insufficient. Another issue of long-term: improve their transparency. Realistic, a Manager questioned four admits that the choice of placement (region,...) of sovereign wealth funds can be influenced and guided by their own Government.