Companies that have significant reserves of cash

The hedge fund managers are also managers like the others... which buy and sell shares! The ICMP Alpha Jet Fund provides eloquent proof. Managed by Julien Coulouarn, head of alternative management at Ixis PCM, this hybrid product launched in 2003 was to generate a performance of 6-8 per year with a lower than market volatility. In practice, this ce fonds Fund of hedge funds juxtaposes placements "hedge funds" and in convertibles with a component directly invested in shares with "long-short" strategies including weight varies depending on the beliefs of the Manager.

In the pane invested long-term, Julien Coulouarn approach does not differ both conventional management. Through a 'top down' selection process, it begins by examining the whole of the macroeconomic variables (currencies, contents first, inflation, rates) to infer then themes of investment. "Currently, I am inclined to believe that mergers and acquisitions that have dominated the year 2006 should not therefore be influence, anticipates it. Companies that have significant reserves of cash. And the financing conditions remain favourable to investment funds as short rates increase has had a marginal impact on long rates.

In its strategy, targets of OPA therefore constitute a central theme. It is distinguished, among other things, Energias de Portugal (EDP), which feeds rumours after the movement of reconciliation in societies of Spanish collective services, Mobistar, France Telecom could eventually buy out the minority, and Autostrade, the Group motorway on which it does not exclude an increase of the offer of Abertis.

In this pane in the long term, Julien Coulouarn purchases essentially a solid, capable of generating performance with or without OPA. Typically, Danone ranks among the values that the growth is stable and defensive, with a strategy focused on improving margins and the strengthening of the range of products. The speculative aspect brings only an icing on the cake.

"The other way of bounce on mergers and acquisitions is to focus on the synergies identified approximation operations, he said." In this context, I retained Mittal Steel, one of the best investment on raw vectors.

Next to this crosscutting theme, the manager implements the sectoral themes. Currently he focuses energy through Gazprom, became the Fourth World capitalization. Julien Coulouarn also directs the themes that guide his selection on the favorite criteria for investors. "Two years ago, we prefer the values of performance, at the time when the market was eating dividends, traces the Manager. Currently, the trend is rather in the sense of the values of growth. This is why I chose values as Roche, the Swiss laboratory. Although its valuation ratios are clearly superior to the rest of the pharmacy, the "pipeline" is one of the most promising. Similarly, Banco Bilbao has important relay of growth in Latin America, particularly in the Mexico where the economy is a growing. In addition, the profitability of its own capital stands at 28, 20 to its European competitors, which would justify a little more a premium to the rest of the banking sector.

Julien Coulouarn retains also a few values on a case by case basis. For example Altana, which has recently Nycomed, a Danish Laboratory, medical operations to refocus on specialty chemistry. "The course has modestly increased since the announcement of the split mid-September, rotating around 44 to 45 euros, while the branch is committed to reverse the entire recipe for sale via an exceptional dividend or 31 euros per action quantifies it." In my view, this route is explained by an inefficiencies in the market's change of profile. But this haircut will be quickly remedied once the group is best followed by financial analysts.