The first three years are the most critical period in a fund’s lifetime for attracting asset flows, according to the MackayWilliams Product Innovation Perspectives report.
While the investment industry may be dedicated to encouraging saving for the long-term, perversely, a fifth of industry assets are invested in funds that are less than five years old.
The analysis revealed that sales tend to tail off rapidly and turn negative within just a couple of years of their heyday. “If you have a winning product today by all means make the most of it – but plan for a scenario where, by 2018, it may well have fallen off the podium. Even in uncertain times, like the post-Brexit vote, asset managers must fight the temptation to freeze budgets and halt product innovations. Maintaining a new product pipeline is vital for companies wanting to protect their future asset gathering potential” says Chris Chancellor, partner, MackayWilliams.
Also highlighted in the report are the most successful companies for overall fund launches and the factors behind their success. Topping the table in Gold and Silver positions, in the latest six monthly update, were Marsh McLennan and the Russell Group where their strength with institutional clients underpinned their high success rate. Commenting on changes in the top ten over the six-month period to 31/03/2016, Chris Chancellor said: “Many of these groups are very close in terms of their launch success rates with relatively small changes leading to notable shifts in rankings. Fidelity is an important beneficiary; in the latest five-year window we have measured it has just three more successful funds than six months ago, but this has propelled it up 12 places.” It’s not a level playing field across all asset classes, though. Scaling the heights of success even to meet the relatively low minimum threshold of €100m is much more difficult to achieve in the mixed asset arena than in fixed income. Fixed income success rates of fund launches are roughly 50:50. Whereas in the highly competitive mixed asset category, 78% of fund launches failed to achieve the €100m grade.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFoto: milito10 / Pixabay. AXA Investment Managers ficha a Alix Chosson
AXA Investment Managers announced the appointment of Alix Chosson as Energy Fundamentals Analyst within the firm’s Responsible Investment (RI) team. Alix will be based in London, reporting into Matt Christensen, Global Head of Responsible Investment at AXA IM.
Commenting on the appointment, Christensen said: “Responsible investment is a key business priority for AXA IM and Alix’s appointment is the first in a series of hires to further strengthen our RI team. We are excited to have her on board and certain that her strong background in RI and impact analysis, particularly within the energy sector, will make her a valuable addition to the team. The COP 21 meeting in December last year put climate change firmly on investors’ agenda and as a result we are seeing considerations around energy become a major factor in business decision making across various jurisdictions. Alix’s arrival strengthens our in-house expertise in the energy sector and our ability to work with clients to match their specific needs in this area.”
Alix joins AXA IM from Standard Life Investments where she was a Responsible Investment Analyst from 2013 specialising in energy and technology sectors. She focused on both ESG integration and impact investing. Prior to that, Alix worked at Generali Investments as RI Analyst. She started her career in 2010 at Amundi Asset Management as an RI and Corporate Governance Analyst. Alix holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from Sciences Po Lyon as well as two Master’s degrees from Sciences Po Lyon and Institut d’Administration d’Entreprise Paris Est-Créteil.
Chosson commented: “I am excited to join a pioneer in RI and look forward to working with the company’s experienced RI and impact team to grow the firm’s capabilities even further at an interesting time for the industry.”
According to a statement, “having won its first RI specific mandate nearly 20 years ago, AXA IM views RI as a key area for its business and clients.” The volume of ESG-integrated and impact investments managed by AXA IM reached €333 billion in 2015.
Foto: mulan
. Deutsche Asset Management suma un fondo a su suite de ETFs Comprehensive Factor
Deutsche Asset Management has announced the launch of Deutsche X-trackers Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor exchange traded fund (ETF) the fourth ETF to be added to its multifactor suite. The new fund, DESC, seeks to track the Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor Index. The FTSE Russell family of Comprehensive Factor Indices is designed to track the equity market performance of companies that have demonstrated relatively strong exposure to targeted investment style factors: value, momentum, quality, low volatility and size.
Fiona Bassett, Head of Passive Strategy in the Americas said: “DESC, focusing on small cap US stocks, is a logical addition to our Deutsche X-trackers Comprehensive Factor ETFs suite, which is based on an intelligently designed index construction mechanism that takes into account five investment factors. Academic research has identified certain stocks’ characteristics that are important in explaining a stock’s risk and performance. Emphasizing these factors can potentially make a significant contribution to outperforming traditional market-capitalization weighted benchmark indices.”
Deutsche AM rolled out its US multifactor suite late last year with the Deutsche X-trackers Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor ETF and the Deutsche X-trackers FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor ETF .The suite was expanded with the launch of Deutsche X-trackers FTSE Emerging Comprehensive Factor ETF earlier this year. DESC follows the same investment methodology as the three previously-launched funds applied to the small cap US stock universe.
Photo: Narch, Flickr, Creative Commons. Luxembourg Approves an Alternative Fund Structure
The law introducing a new Luxembourg alternative fund structure, the Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF), has been approved by the Luxembourg Parliament and will come into force three days after publication in Luxembourg’s Official Gazette Mémorial.
Welcoming the new law, Denise Voss, Chairman of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, says: “The Luxembourg RAIF Law provides an additional – complementary – alternative investment fund vehicle which is similar to the Luxembourg SIF regime. Unlike the SIF, the RAIF does not require approval of the Luxembourg regulator, the CSSF, but is supervised via its alternative investment fund manager (AIFM), which must submit regular reports to the regulator. Luxembourg managers will therefore have a choice, depending on investor preference. They can set up their alternative investment funds as Part II UCIs, SIFs or SICARs if they prefer direct supervision of the fund by the CSSF. Alternatively they can set up their alternative investment fund as a RAIF, thereby reducing time-to-market.”
Freddy Brausch, Vice-Chairman of ALFI with responsibility for national affairs, adds: “In order to ensure sufficient protection and regulation via its manager, a RAIF must be managed by an authorised external AIFM. The latter can be domiciled in Luxembourg or in any other Member State of the EU. If it is authorised and fully in line with the requirements of the AIFMD, the AIFM can make use of the marketing passport to market shares or units of RAIFs on a cross-border basis. As is the case for Luxembourg SIFs and SICARs, shares or units of RAIFs can only be sold to well-informed investors.
Denise Voss concludes: “The new structure complements Luxembourg’s attractive range of investment fund products and we believe this demonstrates the understanding the Luxembourg legislator has of the needs of the fund industry in order to best serve the interests of investors.“
You can click here to access the legislative history in French.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrMarc Bolland . Marc Bolland to Become Head of European Portfolio Operations at Blackstone
Blackstone, one of the largest asset managers in the world has appointed Marc Bolland as Head of European Portfolio Operations of its private equity businesses. Bolland was formerly Chief Executive of Marks and Spencer and previously Chief Executive of Morrisons and Chief Operating Officer of Heineken. He will start on September, 19th, 2016.
Joseph Baratta, global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, said: “We are delighted that Marc is joining us. He has had an outstanding career leading and developing major international businesses, and I am sure he will add great value to our current and future portfolio businesses.”
Marc Bolland said: “I am very pleased to be joining a firm of the quality and scale of Blackstone. I look forward to working with its extraordinary team and the businesses owned by Blackstone funds to drive growth and to add value for investors.”
Bolland was named The Times “Businessman of the year” in 2008.
Foto cedida. Investment Placement Group realiza una contratación clave para su expansión en Miami: Rocio Harb se une a la firma
Investment Placement Group (IPG), an Independent Broker Dealer, announced today that Ms. Rocio Harb has been appointed Director and will become Branch Manager in the newly formed Miami office. This follows IPG’s recent opening of their Houston Texas office just six months ago. Ms. Harb will be based in Miami and report directly to Mr. Gilbert Addeo, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development of IPG.
“As we continue to expand our business we recognize the need for talented leaders who can help our firm transform and rise to the next level” said Addeo. “Rocio is well respected in the industry and has a proven track record of building and managing U.S. domestic as well as international private banking teams. We view her appointment as Branch Manager of our newly formed Miami office as a sign of our commitment to servicing global investors as well as attracting highly talented advisors to our firm.”
Harb has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She joins IPG from Wunderlich Securities, Inc. most recently serving as a Managing Director and Branch Manager in their Miami office. Prior to this, she worked for Dominick and Dominick as a Branch Manager. Earlier in her career, she held various compliance, operations and client management positions as Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
“I am very happy to be joining the IPG team” said Harb. “IPG has outlined a very clear vision for their growth and are truly committed to international wealth management and private banking. In addition, they have the technology, lending, trading and custodial platforms that support the needs of advisors with a global client base. I look forward to applying my expertise to this new opportunity with IPG”.
Headquartered in San Diego California, IPG is comprised of a group of affiliated financial service companies specializing in providing various wealth management and private banking services.
BNY Mellon Wealth Management nombra a Esteban Colon II Wealth Director - Foto cedida. BNY Mellon Wealth Management nombra wealth director a Esteban Colon II
BNY Mellon has appointed Esteban Colon II to the new role of wealth director with BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s New York and Northern New Jersey team. He reports to Managing Director Katia Friend and serves domestic and international clients.
Colon joins BNY Mellon Wealth Management from PNC Private Bank, where he was a senior relationship manager in the firm’s Ridgewood, N.J., office. Earlier in his 16-year financial services career, he was employed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a global international financial advisor in New York and, before that, as business financer officer and head of financial planning and analysis for Latin America.
Colon earned a B.A. in biology with a minor in finance from Baruch College. Fluent in Spanish and conversational in Portuguese, Colon is active with the Newark, N.J., and New York chapters of After-School All-Stars. He resides in Westwood, N.J.
BNY Mellon Wealth Management is a leading wealth manager, and was named in 2016 by Family Wealth Report as the top U.S. Private Bank. It has $191.2 billion in total private client assets, as of March 31, 2016.
Foto: Marko Mikkonen
. Schroders lanza el primer UCITS long/short de renta variable asiática en la plataforma GAIA
Schroders has announced the launch of Schroder GAIA Indus PacifiChoice in partnership with Indus Capital Partners. The fund will invest in equities and equity-related securities in the Asia Pacific region within a UCITS framework.
The fund will be managed by the investment team at Indus Capital, led by Sheldon Kasowitz, CFA, Managing Partner and co-founder of Indus Capital. The fund will look across the entire Asia Pacific region including Japan, Greater China, India and Australia, combining primarily bottom-up stock picking with a macro reasearch overlay. The fund is based on an existing UCITS fund managed by Indus, which has delivered a positive annualised net return since inception in January 2011.
Established in 2000, Indus Capital is an investment firm specialising in equity strategies investing primarily in the Asia Pacific region including Japan and in emerging markets. The firm manages approximately US$ 5.3bn for foundations and university endowments, corporate and public pensions, high net worth individuals, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and financial institutions.
The fund manager, Sheldon Kasowitz, has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry and has been involved in long/short equity strategies for more than 20 years.
Sheldon Kasowitz, Managing Partner and co-founder of Indus Capital, said:
“ Global macro concerns have taken their toll on Asian markets recently. While external pressures remain, and China’s structural issues will continue to create volatility, the policy framework within the region is broadly attractive, and valuations are at the low to moderate end of the range. Our deeply fundamental, bottom-up stock picking approach is well suited to exploit the mispricings, both long and short, being presented across Asia.”
Eric Bertrand, Director of Schroder GAIA, said:
“We continue to see very strong demand for liquid alternative investment strategies, as clients seek to diversify their portfolios. We’re delighted to partner with Indus who have an exceptional proven track record in this strategy and investing in Asia Pacific.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Laura Lewis
. The Consultant Relations Function Is a Priority in Institutional Marketing and Sales
According to new research from Cerulli Associates, the U.S. asset management industry, for the first time, is making the consultant relations function a priority in the marketing and sales of institutional products and strategies, thus underscoring the continuing gatekeeper role of investment consultants in the institutional distribution process. The majority of asset managers indicate the importance of having a consultant relations function has increased significantly over the past five years.
“Five years ago, less than half of asset managers viewed consultant relations teams as very important, and that number climbed to nearly 80% this year,” states Chris Mason, research analyst. “And that view of consultant relations is expected to solidify over time with 90% expected to take that view within the next three years.”
“Institutional asset managers have increasingly looked to investment consultants as a major source of new business opportunities in recent years,” Mason explains. “In 2015, asset managers reported that 58% of their net flows were consultant-intermediated, and that number is expected to surpass 60% by the end of this year.”
“Consultant relations has evolved from a ‘nice to have’ resource to an absolute necessity,” Mason adds. “As a result, almost all managers have at least some form of a consultant relations function within their organization.”
While a quality consultant relations function is becoming key to asset managers, Cerulli maintains that industry acceptance of the function is just the first step. Field consultants and the manager research staffs that support them are increasingly focusing their efforts on narrowing their manager coverage and requiring more in-depth information and data from those they analyze, according to the report.
The firm´s latest report, U.S. Investment Consultants 2016: Collaborating with Consultants to Improve Investor Outcomes,explores the institutional investment consulting landscape and the evolving consultant business model. Research examines the growing needs across institutional client segments and how asset managers can collaborate with gatekeepers to meet institutions’ changing needs.
Fotos cedidas
. Michael Mazzola y Julie Nemirovsky se unen a la práctica de servicios financieros de EisnerAmper
EisnerAmper has announced that Michael Mazzola and Julie Nemirovsky have joined the firm’s Financial Services practice and will serve clients from its Miami office. Michael Mazzola joins firm partnership, and Julie Nemirovsky has been named Director in Asset Management Group.
Mike Mazzola has more than 20 years of experience providing audit, tax planning and compliance services to a diverse set of alternative investment clients. He has worked closely with domestic and offshore funds, hedge funds, master-feeder structures, broker-dealers, general partnerships, and management companies. He also has experience in domestic and foreign securities, derivatives, and other exotic instruments. Prior to joining EisnerAmper, Mike was a Partner at a New York public accounting firm serving financial service clients.
Julie Nemirovsky has more than 15 years of experience providing audit and tax services to clients in the financial services industry. Her expertise is in serving domestic and offshore funds, master-feeders, funds of funds, investment advisors and general partner entities. Julie also works with domestic and foreign securities, various types of derivatives, foreign currencies, life settlement contracts and private investments. Previously, Julie was a Director at a New York public accounting firm.
In making the announcement, Peter Cogan, co-leader of the Financial Services practice, said that there were a number of market-related factors that made the additions of Mazzola and Nemirovsky particularly timely. “The South Florida region continues to attract high net worth individuals, many from overseas. This, together with an increase in the number and scope of services offered by money managers as well as by real estate-focused private equity funds, makes it clear that the marketplace is an excellent fit for our firm’s core practice groups and for the types of services Mike and Julie offer.”
“The addition of Mike and Julie is part of our strategy of expanding EisnerAmper’s services in high growth markets like South Florida, while building upon the already significant strengths of our national practices including financial services, real estate and personal wealth,” said Charly Weinstein, EisnerAmper Chief Executive Officer.
