The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has published in cooperation with SWIFT a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in 2015.
The report is an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey.
The report highlights include that torder volumesincreased by 11% in 2015, bringing the total volume processed by the 29 survey participants to 34.1 million orders last year.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 85.4% in the last quarter of 2015, which represents an increase of 2.8 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 1.8 p.p. to 51.2%, while the use of manual processes dropped to 14.6% (-2.8 p.p.) in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 82.9% in the last quarter of 2015 compared to 81.3% in the last quarter of 2014. The ISO automation rate increased from 57.9% in Q4 2014 to 65% in Q4 2015, while the use of proprietary ftp decreased from 23.4% in Q4 2014 to 17.9% in Q4 2015.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 89.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, from 85.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014. The use of manual processes falls down to 10.3% in Q4 2015 compared to 14.4% in Q4 2014.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, notes: “The continuous progress towards ISO adoption and the impressive 15% drop in manual processing of funds orders confirm that the European investment funds industry continued to improve the efficiency of its back-office operations in 2015. This is tangible proof of the industry’s commitment to reduce operational risks and to ensure ever-improving services for its clients.”
Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds: “Back in 2009, when we launched the first EFAMA-SWIFT report, we, together as an industry, had established an objective to reach 80% of automated cross-border fund orders, which seemed realistic, yet ambitious.
Today, with more than 85% of cross-border funds orders automated, the ongoing progress of the transfer agent communities of Luxembourg and Ireland is a testament to the commitment of these markets to become more efficient for the benefit of its clients, and to alleviate the high costs and risks associated with manual processing. Along with the substantial increase of funds order volumes (which progressed by 11% compared to 2014), it is also encouraging to note that, when TAs are setting up new links with new order givers, ISO adoption is, more than ever, the first choice.
With EFAMA’s recommendation of a single ISO standard to be used in the funds industry, we are clearly moving in the right direction, and now is the opportunity to focus on the potential next buckets of automation, namely for transfers and account openings, where we see the biggest potential for standardisation.”
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) today published in cooperation with SWIFT, a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres ofLuxembourg and Ireland in 2014.
The report confirms that the automation rate and the use of the ISO standards in the fund industry increased to 82.6% (from 79.8% in December 2013), reaching a new all-time high.
The report is part of an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 82.6% in the last quarter of 2014, which represents an increase of 2.8 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 4.5 p.p., while manual processes and FTP rates dropped to 17.4% (-2.8 p.p.) and 33.2% (-1.7 p.p.) respectively, in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 81.3% during Q4 2014, compared to 76.6% in Q4 2013.The ISO automation rate remains stable at 57.9% in Q4 2014. The rate of proprietary FTP increased to 23.4% against 18.8% in Q4 2013, while manual orders decreased to 18.7% against 23.4% in Q4 2013.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs remains stable with 85.6% in Q4 2014 compared to Q4 2013.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, says: “As we have seen in previous years, the funds industry continues to move towards more automation and standardization in the processing of cross-border fund orders. By relying less on manual processing, fund managers thus increase the efficiency of their operations, which helps reduce their overall costs and increases the potential return of their funds, and is a very positive development.”
Fabian Vandenreydt, Head of Markets Management, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds: “The industry is making great strides towards full automation of the funds order process. Similar to other business areas, the adoption of standards and the move towards automation significantly reduces the costs and risks commonly associated with manual processing. It is great to see comparable progress in the funds industry, particularly the work SWIFT has done in collaboration with EFAMA, which is clearly paving the way to more efficient back office operations across the funds distribution process.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Giuseppe Milo. Eaton Vance Launches a Multi-Asset Credit Fund
Eaton Vance Management Limited. (EVMI), a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Management, today announced the launch of Eaton Vance (Ireland) Multi-Asset Credit Fund, a sub-fund of Eaton Vance Institutional Funds Plc, which is available to investors in the UK and Ireland, with forthcoming registration in other jurisdictions.
In an uncertain market for traditional core fixed income asset class returns, this strategy seeks to provide investors with broad exposure to the global sub- investment grade credit markets, principally through higher yielding credit assets including global high yield bonds and floating-rate loans. Up to 40% of the fund’s assets may be allocated to opportunistic and risk-reducing fixed income asset classes. The strategy will also be available to investors as a customisable segregated mandate.
The Fund’s co-portfolio managers are Jeffrey Mueller, Vice President, Justin Bourgette, CFA, Vice President, and John Redding, Vice President. The Fund will be managed in a way that draws on Eaton Vance’s breadth of investment expertise and capabilities, based on the ‘intelligent integration’ of top-down and bottom-up inputs to optimise portfolio construction.
Payson Swaffield, Chief Income Investment Officer of Eaton Vance Management, commented: “Eaton Vance is an experienced manager of investments across the global credit spectrum. Bringing our multi-asset Credit capability to investors in a QIAIF structure is a natural evolution of our market leadership position in leveraged credit. I am confident that the combination of Jeff, Justin and John will allow us to provide an attractive strategy for investors seeking higher yields and strong, sustainable returns.”
The Fund is a regulated, Irish domiciled qualifying investor alternative investment fund (“QIAIF”) and complies with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”).
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFoto: Steven Lee. Deloitte compra Casey Quirk, la consultora de gestión estratégica de activos a nivel global
Deloitte announced that it has acquired substantially all the assets of Casey Quirk, the world’s largest strategy consultancy devoted exclusively to serving the asset management industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The move combines the strengths and global reach of Deloitte, a leader in business transformation ranked number one in global strategy and operations consulting, with Casey Quirk, a leader in asset management strategy that has served a majority of the world’s 50 largest asset managers. The Casey Quirk partners and existing team will transition to Deloitte and will now operate under the “Casey Quirk by Deloitte” brand.
“This combination brings together capabilities to help our clients drive transformational change across their organizations. Together, we are positioned to work with our clients in responding to the range of quickly emerging, evolving and complex challenges, including globalization, innovation, competition and, most importantly, shifts in investor requirements,” commented Joe Guastella, US financial services consulting leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Additional challenges such as fee pressure, industry consolidation, technology disruption, increased regulation, and the rise of individual investors are creating unprecedented change in the global asset management industry. With an array of consulting services from strategy formulation through operational execution, Casey Quirk by Deloitte will offer one of the most complete sets of end-to-end consulting services available to asset management organizations.
“Casey Quirk is joining forces with Deloitte to broaden our global financial services footprint and deliver differentiated execution capabilities for our clients,” said Kevin P. Quirk, chairman, Casey Quirk. “This combination provides an unparalleled value proposition to the marketplace.”
“Casey Quirk has more than doubled its staff in the past three years and opened offices in Hong Kong and New York. Joining Deloitte is an optimal choice to help us maintain our tremendous growth,” said Yariv Itah, managing partner, Casey Quirk. “We also believe this creates a superior career platform for our talented team.”
“This is the latest in a string of strategic acquisitions Deloitte Consulting has made in recent years to continue helping our clients solve their most complex business challenges,” said Janet Foutty, chairman and CEO, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Casey Quirk’s deep strategy expertise, leading research and recognized talent in the asset management consulting space will bring even more value to the trusted relationships Deloitte has with our financial services clients.”
Foto: Peter-Ashley. Los inversores europeos se alejaron de la renta variable durante mayo
According to Detlef Glow, Head of EMEA research at Lipper, assets under management in the European mutual fund industry enjoyed net inflows of €1.3 bn into long-term mutual funds during May.
The single fund markets with the highest net inflows for May were Germany (+€1.9 bn), Switzerland (+€1.1 bn), Norway (+€0.8 bn), and the United Kingdom (+€0.6 bn). Meanwhile, Belgium was the single market with the highest net outflows (-€2.7 bn), bettered somewhat by the Netherlands (-€1.4 bn) and Luxembourg (-€1.2 bn).
Bond EUR Corporates (+€2.0 bn) was once again the best selling sector among long-term funds.
In terms of asset types, and according to Glow, “it seemed that European investors continued in a risk-off mode, selling risky assets,” equity funds (-€10.3 bn) were once again the ones with the highest net outflows in Europe, bettered by “other” funds (-€0.2 bn) and mixed-asset products (-€0.2 bn). In contrast, bond funds (+€7.8 bn) were the best selling asset type for May, followed by alternative UCITS (+€2.5 bn), real estate products (+€0.9 bn), and commodity funds (+€0.8 bn).
JP Morgan, with net sales of €4.8 bn, was the best selling fund promoter for May overall, ahead of BlackRock (+€4.3 bn) and Aviva (+€3.5 bn).
Eastspring Investments-Developed and Emerging Asia Eq E (+€2.1 bn) was the best selling individual long-term fund for May.
Asian asset managers are increasingly entering into strategic partnerships with other managers in the region as they look for various business strategies which could potentially enhance their revenue streams as cost pressures rise and competition stiffens.
This is one of the key findings of Cerulli Associates’ newly-released report, Asian Distribution Dynamics 2016: Responding to an Evolving Landscape.
Excluding Hong Kong and Singapore, most Asian markets are still inaccessible to foreign managers, with some markets, such as Taiwan and Korea, showing an increase in home bias. “An absence of distribution partners and lack of brand recognition are problems new entrants have to contend with and partnering with a local partner is seen as the best way to raise assets without a large initial investment,” says Shu Mei Chua, an associate director at Cerulli, who led the report.
She notes that strategic pacts are largely aimed at three key areas: asset growth potential, product development, and distribution dynamics.
E Fund Management entered into a partnership with Danske Capital to “jointly design and promote” investments. Korea’s Samsung Asset Management and its sister company, Samsung Securities, together have four pacts with other Asian or global managers and serve as the prime example to either co-develop products or to bring recognizable global managers to Korean shores.
“While most partnerships entered into so far are targeting joint product developments, we expect strategic partnerships to get more creative in light of a tighter regulatory environment and the rise of financial technology,” Chua adds.
Many asset managers are looking to alternative methods of distribution in the region dominated by brokerages and banks. Many have come to the conclusion that digital channels are set to play a big part in the next stage of distribution.
In fact, digital marketing has already made its headway in key markets in the region. Managers in China and India had the largest budget allocations to digital marketing among Asian markets and are using various digital tools to reach end investors.
“For instance, the use of messaging app WeChat to promote funds and provide investor education is considered indispensable for managers looking to gain customers in China,” notes Ivan Han, a senior analyst with Cerulli.
He adds that robo-advisors are possibly on the cusp of disrupting the asset management industry in Asia in a positive way by forcing the industry to consider how to offer inexpensive, scalable advice to the majority of investors who are often ignored because they have smaller accounts.
“Robo-advisory is more of a distribution story in that it allows managers to tap capital from investors who had been reluctant to invest in mutual funds due to a lack of advice,” Han says.
Foto: vinod velayudhan
. Los activos en manos de gestores de private equity de mercados emergentes alcanzan su récord
Preqin’s latest report on private equity in emerging markets (EM) finds that the total assets held by managers based in these regions have increased year-on-year to approach $300bn as of September 2015, the latest data available. The combined AUM of EM-based managers did not see much growth in 2014, rising from $248bn at the end of 2013 to $258bn a year later. Since then, however, total assets have risen $39bn in nine months, to hit record highs.
This increase in AUM comes despite the growing interest shown in emerging markets by fund managers based outside of these regions. The proportion of aggregate emerging markets-focused capital which was raised by managers based in these regions peaked in 2011, when they accounted for 77% of the $69bn raised. Since then, the proportion has fallen year-on-year, and in 2015 EM-based managers accounted for 49% of the $40bn raised. In 2016 YTD, EM-based managers have accounted for just a third (33%) of the total capital raised for emerging markets, an all-time low.
“Emerging markets have developed significantly over the past decade; as many more developed markets have seen slower growth in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, some economies in emerging regions maintained double-digit growth rates. As such, private equity funds focused on these regions have been able to capitalize on opportunities, and the total assets held by these funds is now just less than $300bn. Recent years have also seen increased participation in emerging markets from international GPs, which are attracted by the robust underlying demographics and potential for strong returns. While managers based in these regions may struggle to compete with the resources of larger market entrants, they might be able to leverage their in-depth local understanding of these markets in order to attract investors.” Says Christopher Elvin, Head of Private Equity, Preqin.
Foto: AwesomeSA
. Vest se alía con DIF Broker para ofrecer inversiones estructuradas basadas en opciones
The international broker-dealer DIF Broker announced that it is partnering with Vest’s technology subsidiary, a digital solutions provider for options-centric structured products. Vest’s technology will power a platform allowing DIF Broker’s financial advisors to customize protective structured options strategies on behalf of its clients throughout the Iberian Peninsula and South America.
The offerings will enable the clients of the broker to access a number of innovative, options-based investment strategies, including those that aim to provide some measure of downside protection. “Our main goal with the new service is to offer a uniquely useful product for our investors,” said Paulo Pinto, Chief Operating Officer at the broker-dealer. “Our dedicated team of investment consultants will be on hand with the aim of offering Vest’s distinctive services in a number of regions where such strategies have previously been unavailable.”
Vest’s technology subsidiary develops technological and software solutions for brokerages and investment advisers alike, allowing them to offer structured notes-like payouts to their customers, using exchange traded options to construct the payouts. It reduces the complexity of options trading while providing investors with targeted protection, enhanced returns, and a level of predictability unattainable with most other investments, says the company.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Iain Cunningham, Portfolio Manager in its established multi-asset team. Investec Asset Management Appointed Iain Cunningham to its Multi-Asset Team
Investec Asset Management has announced the appointment of Iain Cunningham as a Portfolio Manager in its established multi-asset team. Iain brings an extensive track record dedicated to multi-asset investment, most recently at Schroder Investment Management.
Iain Cunningham will join the firm’s multi-asset investment capability, reporting to Michael Spinks, co-Head of Multi-Asset Growth at Investec Asset Management. The range of solutions managed by the 31-strong team includes total return and relative return growth strategies, as well as defensive income.
Michael Spinks, co-Head of Multi-Asset Growth, commented: “We are excited about Iain joining the team given the asset allocation skills and experience that he brings with him. In addition to portfolio management responsibilities, Iain will help to develop Investec’s multi-asset capabilities globally, with a specific focus on our long-standing relative return growth strategies.”
Iain Cunningham joins from Schroder Investment Management where he spent nine years in investment management roles within the multi-manager and multi-asset investment teams – he co-managed the Schroder ISF Global Multi-Asset Income Fund and was co-manager of the Global Multi-Asset Allocation Fund. Additionally, he managed Global Tactical Asset Allocation mandates; was instrumental in developing Schroders’ Multi-Asset Income franchise; and led currency research for the multi-asset team.
“With today’s low growth environment and uncertain economic backdrop, clients are increasingly looking to target investment outcomes based on risk and return”, said Spinks. “Having managed multi-asset portfolios for over 25 years, our core investment capabilities are firmly established, and Iain will play a key role in helping us to continue to seek strong results for our clients.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Ines Hegedus-Garcia
. The Duarte Vasquez Group joins Bolton Global Capital
Bolton Global Capital announced that the Merrill Lynch team of Tanya Duarte and Archibaldo Vasquez has joined the firm’s Miami office. The team manages $225 million in client assets with $2.1 million in annual revenues operating under the name “Duarte Vasquez Group”.
As senior financial advisors with Merrill Lynch for the past 22 years, they have built a broad based international business serving high net worth clients predominantly from Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic and the US. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 1994, they both worked for 10 years at Chase Private Bank as Team Leaders for various Latin American markets.
“We are honored to have such well respected professionals affiliate with our company and look forward to supporting the continued growth of their wealth management business.” Arturo Vasquez will be responsible for client support operations where he has worked at Morgan Stanley for the past 3 years prior to joining Bolton and with BNP Paribas for 2 years.
With the affiliation of the Duarte Vasquez Group, Bolton continues to establish its position as a premier destination for top wirehouse teams transitioning to the independent business model. Over the past 3 years, the firm’s Miami office has recruited more than a dozen major teams from Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, RBC Wealth Management, Citi Private Bank and HSBC Private Bank. During the 3 quarters ending in June 2016, Bolton has added teams with total AUM of more than $1.3 Billion. The firm has leased additional space at 801 Brickell Avenue to accommodate the growth of its business.
