Geldmarktfonds setzen Zahlungen aus

@ Richard Ebert [#1]

Die Überschrift ist unrichtig. Es ist nicht der erste Geldmarktfonds, sondern schon der x-te der Probleme hat und Zahlungen einstellt.

Ich sage nur BNP, AXA, HSBC, Frankfurt Trust, Union Investment usw.usw.

http://www.minyanville.com/articles/sentinel-gs-equity-cash-market-money-fund/index/a/13704

Is This a Run on the Bank? What Sentinel Management's Redemption Halt Really Means
Kevin Depew Aug 14, 2007 12:59 pm

Now we have a standoff... between those demading fairness, and those willing to take a chance on extending a little charity in honor of it.

This morning it was reported that Sentinel Management Group, a cash manager for institutions, corporations and accredited investors founded in 1980, sent a letter to investors saying, "We are concerned that we cannot meet any significant redemption requests without selling securities at deep discounts to their fair value and therefore causing unnecessary losses to our clients." (For more on why liquidity has dried up, see this morning's Five Things.)

What is Sentinel Management Group? According to Frequently Asked Questions posted on the firm's Web site, "Sentinel acts as an agent for its clients. Clients sign an Investment Management Agreement appointing Sentinel as a discretionary investment advisor to supervise and direct the investment of assets in the account on behalf of the client in accordance with the risk parameters agreed upon."

The firm is open only to corporations, institutions and accredited investors. Accredited investors must have a financial net worth of at least $1 million or income in excess of $200,000 annually for the past two years. If you think about it, income in excess of $200,000 as a couple is not a particularly high bar.

Now, Sentinel's FAQs say the company normally invests client cash mostly in the overnight market, also called the Federal Funds Market, or Fed Funds Market. In this market, depository institutions borrow and lend the balances, or reserves, that they hold in accounts at the Federal Reserve. Remember last week when the Federal Reserve conducted those open market operations to provide liquidity. They did so in this market.

But back to Sentinel. While the firm says clients can withdraw 100% of its daily cash (using a cutoff time of 4 p.m.), not all clients want daily liquidity. And here is where we begin to see how there could be problems. In the firms' Frequently Asked Questions, Sentinel notes, "Clients who do not need daily liquidity for the entire amount of their investment can authorize Sentinel to invest for longer periods. This gives Sentinel the flexibility to seek slightly higher yields when the short-term yield curve is more steeply sloped."

Importantly, Sentinel says the firm buys "only the highest quality and most liquid securities (unless specifically directed by a client to seek higher yield in somewhat lower quality issues.)" Ah, there we go. If Sentinel was managing cash positions for clients who were not in need of daily liquidity, then those clients perhaps directed the firm to invest in somewhat "lower' quality" issues in order to boost their yields. And as we now know, demand for those higher-yielding securities has dried up. Consequently, the firm is unable to trade, or even price, many of those securities.

Sentinel, like Goldman Sachs (GS) when referring to their Global Equities Opportunities firm, now says they own securities selling at "deep discounts to their fair value" and that would cause their investors "unnecessary losses." So, the bottom line is they don't want to sell those assets and give investors back their money. Yes, no one likes to sell things for a loss. Of course, markets care nothing about "fair value." Fair value is what someone is willing to pay, not what an investor deserves to receive.

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http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-08-14T212205Z_01_N14463514_RTRIDST_0_SENTINELMANAGEMENT-LETTER.XML&pageNumber=2&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=InvArt-C1-ArticlePage2

Text of Sentinel Management's letter to clients
Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:22 PM ET

NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Below is the text of a letter to clients from investment firm Sentinel Management Group Inc., which on Monday asked the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to allow it to halt redemptions until it can conduct them in an orderly fashion.

The CFTC said on Tuesday it had no authority to grant Sentinel's request.

Sentinel of Northbrook, Illinois, oversees about $1.6 billion in assets. In the letter to clients, the investment firm warned clients that a redemption panic could trigger a forced liquidation of securities at steep losses.

Text:

Sentinel Management Group, Inc

August 13, 2007

Dear Client:

As you undoubtedly know, the credit markets, along with most other markets, have experienced a liquidity crisis in the past several weeks. Investor fear has overtaken reason and has induced a period in which most securities have simply ceased to trade.

We've all read the stories about one hedge fund or another suffering losses related to subprime exposure and closing down or being rescued.

This fear, while warranted in some cases, has spilled over into the rest of the credit market and liquidity has dried up all over the street. In addition, investment banks and securities firms are stuck with LBO deals they've already entered into but cannot find buyers for the bonds so must inventory them themselves.

This liquidity crisis has caused bids to disappear from the market and makes it virtually impossible to properly price securities or to trade them.

High grade securities are trading like junk bonds as panicked investors dump names like General Electric at Tyco-like prices.

We have carefully monitored this situation for the past several weeks and have met regularly to discuss the potential impact it may have on our clients.

We had previously thought that the market would return to some semblance of order and that our clients would not join in the panic.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case. We are concerned that we cannot meet any significant redemption requests without selling securities at deep discounts to their fair value and therefore causing unnecessary losses to our clients.

We contacted the CFTC today and asked for their permission to halt redemptions until we can honor them in an orderly fashion.

Sentinel has always sought to protect your interests and since our inception in 1980, we have never experienced a situation quite like this one.

We will continue to monitor the markets and we will raise cash as opportunities present themselves. We understand that this will obviously cause inconveniences on your part, however, at present, we do not see an alternative and we don't believe it is in anyone's best interest if a run on Sentinel took place and we were in a forced liquidation mode.

We value your trust in us these past 28 years and this has been a very difficult decision for us and we understand the implications of this decision both on you and on Sentinel.

We feel, however, that this is the best way to assure you the best possible value on your investment. We will remain in contact with you and update you as things progress. Sincerely, Sentinel Management Group, Inc. Edens Corporate Center 650 Dundee Road, Suite 460 Northbrook, Illinois 60062

And so now we have a standoff - between those demanding fairness, and those who may or may not be willing to extend a little charity in honor of it.

@ limitup [#2]

Korrekt, Überschrift geändert. Danke für den Hinweis.

Es gibt einen Geldmarktfonds einer großen deutschen Investmentgesellschaft, der laut Zwischenbericht zum 31.03.2007 Investments in Höhe von 6,64 % des Fondsvermögens in Papiere der Rhineland Funding Capital Corp. investiert hatte.

Die Anleger, die diesem Fonds 2,4 Mrd Euro anvertraut haben, hätten sich möglicherweise die Augen gerieben, wenn die IKB nicht aufgefangen worden wäre.

Wenn einem Fondsmanager sowas mit Papieren amerikanischer Provinienz passiert, geht es wahrscheinlich nicht so glimpflich ab.

Aber, es ist ja nichts passiert! :-)

Hallo zusammen

Welche Geldmarktfonds werden den hier genau angesprochen ?

Die klassischen Geldmarkfonds zum parken von Geld mit einer geringen Verzinsung?

Eine Sparkasse im Raum Köln-Bonn lag auch zu ein geringen Betrag schief. Dürfen die Banken auf die Gelder der Geldmarkfonds zu greifen wenn sie kein Geld mehr haben.

Danke für die Antworten.

mfg

@ m.h13 [#6]

In dem von mir beschriebenen Fall, handelt es sich um einen "klassischen Geldmarktfonds", der diese Bezeichnung auch im Namen trägt.

Das Geld in den Fonds ist vom Kapital der Sparkasse oder Bank getrennt. Hier kann kein Zugriff erfolgen.

@ wuelle [#7]

"klassischen Geldmarktfonds" die über dem Leitzinssatz der jeweiligen Notenbank notieren sollte man für eine Investition meiden. Durch die jeweiligen Fondskosten können diese die "Benchmark" nicht outperformen.