Pictet AM Hires Juan Ramón Caridad García as Head of Strategic Clients for Iberia and Latam

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Photo courtesyJuan Ramón Caridad García, Head of Strategic Clients para Iberia y Latam de Pictet AM.

Pictet Asset Management, the institutional asset management and fund management division of the Swiss Pictet Group, has made two key appointments for the Iberian and Latin American markets, under the supervision of Gonzalo Rengifo Abbad, who has been its General Manager in Iberia and Latam since 2002.

As announced, Juan Ramón Caridad García is joining the Pictet AM team as Head of Strategic Clients for Iberia and Latam, reporting to Gonzalo Rengifo from the Madrid office. Additionally, Lorenzo Coletti Perucca has been promoted to Head of Iberia, taking on the responsibility for the Iberian market, while Tiago Forte Vaz becomes Head of Latam, responsible for the Latin American market. Coletti joined Pictet AM in 2001 as Sales Director for the Italian market and has been in Spain since 2005, while Forte Vaz joined in 2013 to develop business in Portugal and Brazil.

Meanwhile, Patricia de Arriaga Rodríguez, who began her career in 1984 and joined Pictet AM in 2006, will remain with the company as Deputy General Manager in Spain until the end of 2024, and later as Senior Advisor for key clients until her retirement in 2025.

Following Caridad’s appointment, Gonzalo Rengifo Abbad, General Manager in Iberia and Latam, stated: “This is a new transversal role aimed at facilitating a differential service in the various markets of Iberia and Latam and enhancing global synergies. Juan Ramón fits perfectly into the team, as he shares our values of responsibility, entrepreneurial spirit, and long-term thinking.”

Caridad has 25 years of experience. Until last May, he was Managing Director and Head for Iberia & Latam at GAM Investments. Caridad holds a degree in Economics and Business from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a postgraduate degree in Business Analysis and Valuation from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the Academic Director of the Master’s in Finance and Alternative Investment at Bolsas y Mercados Españoles and Co-Director of the I3 program at Instituto de Empresa. Additionally, he is a trustee of the FIDE Foundation.

Rengifo also highlighted that “Patricia will continue to contribute to the business with her extensive experience, deep knowledge of Pictet AM’s investment strategies and capabilities, and close relationship with clients. She has helped multiply the business in the Spanish market to €8.91 billion as of March 2024, making it one of the top ten international asset managers in our country. Among her wide range of achievements, she has been instrumental in successfully advancing thematic investments as well as financial education through various initiatives over the years.”

According to the firm’s head for Iberia and Latam, “these appointments underscore Pictet AM’s commitment to experienced professionals to drive growth and establish itself as a leading partner for institutional investors in the Iberian and Latin American markets.”

Santander PBI Continues its Expansion in Dubai with the Relocation of Iñigo Urbano

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Iñigo Urbano, Santander Private Banking International

Iñigo Urbano has relocated from Miami to Santander Private Banking International’s office in Dubai.

“After more than a decade with our team in Miami, we are delighted to welcome Iñigo Urbano Zumalacarregui to our new Branch in DIFC where he will join the team as Executive Advisor,” the firm announced Wednesday on LinkedIn.

The portfolio manager, who worked for 13 years in Santander’s discretionary management division in Miami (2011-2024), is moving to Dubai for the new office led by Masroor Batin.

Throughout his 20-year career, Urbano has worked at Credit Suisse (1999-2002), Fortis (BNP Paribas) between 2003 and 2009 as a senior portfolio manager. He later worked at Seguros RGA for two years before joining Santander, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In December 2023, Santander Private Banking announced, through an internal memorandum, the opening of an office in Dubai led by Masroor Batin, the former Head of Middle East and Africa at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, in line with its interest in expanding its business in the United Arab Emirates.

In this context, the entity continues to strengthen its Dubai team. Among those who joined before Urbano’s relocation are Jacques-Antoine Lecointre, Kamram Butt, Mustafa Asif Mahmood, and Fady E. Eid.

Generative AI in the Insurance Market Could Generate Over $50 Billions

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The international consultancy Bain & Company has published a study on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the insurance industry, highlighting that this technology could increase company revenues by up to 20% and reduce costs by up to 15%, creating an opportunity for over $50 billion in annual economic benefits.

According to the report, the early use of generative AI in insurance will enable a transformation in distribution, covering four areas. First, its implementation will help agents produce content faster, reduce low-value interactions, and provide guidance to improve customer relationships.

Additionally, having an always-active virtual assistant will expand agent availability and assist customers with product comparisons and digital purchases.

This also opens up the possibility of large-scale hyper-personalization, where conversations, content, and offers will better respond to individual customer needs. Finally, combining structured and unstructured data will provide new insights and assist in risk identification. According to the consultancy, the application of generative AI will boost productivity, adjust workforce size, increase sales through more effective agents, and reduce commissions.

For individual insurers, the technology could increase revenues by 15% to 20% and reduce costs by 5% to 15%. However, Bain concluded that any change must be applied responsibly, recommending that insurers implementing this digital tool should focus on experimentation, learning, and change management.

SEC Issues $24 Million Awards to Two Whistleblowers

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The SEC announced awards of more than $24 million to two whistleblowers whose information and assistance led to an SEC enforcement action and an action brought by another agency.

The first whistleblower will receive an award of $4 million, while the second whistleblower will receive an award of $20 million. While the first whistleblower reported first, prompting the opening of the investigation, the second whistleblower received the higher award, as their information and substantial cooperation proved critical to the success of the actions.

“Today’s awards highlight the incredible public service provided by whistleblowers,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “The information would have been difficult to obtain in the absence of the whistleblowers as it pertained to conduct occurring abroad.”

Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.

Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.

As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose any information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity.

Social Media: A Hurdle for Wealth Managers and Financial Advisors

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According to a report by Ortec Finance, wealth managers and financial advisors are influenced by social media activity when discussing valuations and stocks, which sometimes hinders their ability to provide professional advice to clients. This is affirmed by 95% of the respondents in the firm’s survey.

Of these, more than eight in ten (82%) say they are increasingly influenced by this factor, and more than one in ten (13%) are highly influenced. Only 4% say they are not particularly swayed by social media activity around the stock market and equities, and just 1% say they are not influenced at all.

Additionally, 93% of wealth managers and financial advisors believe that social media noise about the stock market and specific stocks makes it harder for them to provide professional advice to clients due to how clients react to this noise or the impact it has on advisors and wealth managers.

“Despite the many benefits that social media brings, our research shows that the noise surrounding it is an obstacle for many financial advisors and wealth managers. With a younger generation increasingly turning to social media as their source of information for everything from politics to DIY, they are also using it as a source of financial advice. However, our research shows that social media is having a negative impact on many financial advisors and wealth managers, as well as hindering their ability to provide solid professional advice to clients,” explains Tessa Kuijl, Managing Director of Global Wealth Solutions at Ortec Finance.

SEC Adopts Rule to Update Definition of Qualifying Venture Capital Funds

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a rule updating the dollar threshold for a fund to be considered a “qualifying venture capital fund” for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The rule updates the dollar threshold to $12 million in aggregate capital contributions and uncalled committed capital, up from the original threshold of $10 million.

Qualifying venture capital funds are excluded from the Act’s definition of an “investment company.” The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 requires the Commission to index the dollar amount for this threshold for inflation once every five years.

New rule 3c-7 implements this statutory directive and adjusts the dollar amount to $12 million dollars, based on the Personal Consumption Expenditures Chain-Type Price Index.

The rule also establishes a process for the Commission to make future inflation adjustments to the threshold every five years.

It will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Financial Advisors Need More Technology Training and Support

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Managing technological needs remains one of the biggest challenges for advisors, according to the latest Cerulli Edge-The Americas Asset and Wealth Management Edition.

According to the research, the most frequently identified challenges in using technology include compliance restrictions that limit functionality or impose other limitations on advisors’ ability to use technology (73%), followed by a lack of integration between tools/applications (71%), and a lack of time to learn and implement (70%).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, advisors have significantly increased their use of technology. While adoption has proven to be a boon for practices that have incorporated these types of tools, the industry still has a long way to go, the report notes.

Additionally, there is an opportunity for central offices and fintech companies to strengthen the training and support they offer.

“Many of the challenges advisors identify in using technology are challenges that can be overcome through knowledge-sharing efforts to educate and inform advisors about the potential power of more effectively leveraging the technology tools they already have at their disposal,” says Michael Rose, director.

However, according to the study, only half of the advisors are satisfied with the training and support they receive. More structured advisors, who can better leverage specialized technology and offer more comprehensive services to their clients, represent one of the most important market segments for software providers, brokers, and custodians, who are the primary technology providers for these advisors.

“Given the great importance that advisors place on the technology at their disposal, it is crucial that brokers/dealers, custodians, turnkey asset management providers, and other companies that provide technology platforms to advisors obtain sufficient and ongoing feedback to ensure that the technology stack they offer remains aligned with the evolving needs of the practices they serve,” concludes Rose.

 

China Leads the “Brand Value” of Banking Entities Worldwide

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The total brand value of the world’s top 500 banks has doubled in a decade, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Banking 500 2024 ranking. The combined value of the 500 most valuable banking brands in the world has reached a record high of €1.35 trillion ($1.44 trillion), nearly double what it was a decade ago, according to Brand Finance’s sector report.

Notably, China dominates this ranking, with its entities occupying the top four positions: ICBC, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China. The report indicates that Chinese banking brands have appreciated in value, retained the top four positions, and increased their brand value.

“The Chinese banking sector shows remarkable recovery, with the four major banks far ahead of their U.S. counterparts. ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) remains the most valuable banking brand in the world for the eighth consecutive year, with a brand value of €67 billion. China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China occupy the second, third, and fourth positions, respectively,” the report states.

Another trend evident in the evolution of this ranking is that local banking brands prove to be stronger than global ones: BCA, from Indonesia, stands as the strongest banking brand in the world, and regional African operators score high in brand strength. In contrast, the brand value of Russian banks continues to plummet.

For U.S. banks, it is notable that they have experienced a slight decline of 6.6% in terms of brand value. Despite this, Bank of America retains the title of the leading U.S. banking brand for the fourth consecutive year, ranking fifth overall with a value of €34.8 billion. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo, which ranks sixth overall, has narrowed the gap with its U.S. competitor, with a 5% increase, reaching a brand value of €33.4 billion.

Commenting on these results, David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, stated: “As the world’s leading banking brands reach new heights, Chinese megabanks continue to dominate at the top of the brand value ranking. Another key finding from our market study is that local banks are increasingly eclipsing their larger counterparts in brand strength. Dominant brands thrive in unique markets with limited competition, while banks that expand into multiple markets can successfully increase their brand value but risk diluting their strength.”

Regarding these trends, Brand Finance’s market study indicates that local and regional banks are performing as well as, and in many cases better than, banks with a global presence in terms of positioning their brand in the hearts and minds of customers.

For example, BCA of Indonesia is the strongest banking brand in the world, with a score of 93.8/100 in the Brand Strength Index (BSI) and an elite AAA+ rating. Three African brands, Equity Bank, First National Bank, and Kenya Commercial Bank, along with Romania’s Banca Transylvania, are among the five strongest brands in the world, all with AAA+ ratings.

Finally, regarding movements within the ranking, only 11 of the top 50 countries experienced declines in aggregate value, led by Russia (69%), Nigeria (28%), and Malaysia (20%). “As expected due to the international sanctions imposed on Russia, the country’s two largest brands—Sber and VTB—are at the forefront of those that have seen the largest percentage drops in brand value, with declines of 64% and 91%, respectively,” the report notes.

GoldenTree Asset Management Expands Private Credit Team

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GoldenTree Asset Management has announced the hiring of Avineet Punhani as Principal. He will be based in the firm’s New York office and will report to Grady Frank, Partner and Head of Private Credit Origination.

Punhani brings to GoldenTree nearly 15 years of credit expertise alongside his robust private equity relationships. He joins GoldenTree from PNC Financial Services, where he served as a Managing Director with responsibilities that included leading their global origination efforts in the technology industry.

“Throughout our 25-year history, GoldenTree has been a leader in developing innovative private credit solutions, consistently delivering value to issuers and private equity sponsors. This success has created compelling investments for our funds. We are excited to welcome Avi to our team, and are confident that his expertise will enhance our relationships with private credit issuers,” said Grady Frank.

Lee Kruter, Partner and Head of Performing Credit added, “GoldenTree’s deliberate, investment-centric approach sets us apart from our peers. In today’s uncertain economic and market environment, we believe GoldenTree is uniquely positioned, given our broad reach across credit asset classes, our experienced investment team, and our expertise in analyzing complex transactions. We look forward to growing our team and expanding our capabilities to continue delivering differentiated value to our investors.”

Punhani said, “GoldenTree’s diverse industry expertise, expansive capital base and ability to structure unique transactions swiftly and at scale create a truly differentiated value proposition. I am thrilled to join GoldenTree’s leading private credit platform and collaborate with Grady, Lee and this talented team to further enhance our market presence, deepen our relationships with key stakeholders and create attractive investment opportunities that can continue to drive differentiated returns for our investors.”

GoldenTree Asset Management is a global asset management firm with approximately $55 billion in assets under management, according the firm information.

Is it Worth Investing a Trillion Dollars in Generative Artificial Intelligence?

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In the coming years, nearly a trillion dollars is expected to be invested in generative artificial intelligence, but is it worth it?

To understand where the industry is headed, Brook Dane and Sung Cho, portfolio managers from Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Fundamental Equity team, met with executives from 20 leading technology companies driving innovation in artificial intelligence.

There are risks. Only a handful of companies can compete in the development of large-scale, general-purpose language models. It could become a market where the winner takes all, with significant losses for companies that fall behind, even after massive investment. The applications that justify the enormous amount of spending have yet to fully emerge. For now, AI competition is largely concentrated among a few large companies with substantial resources.

However, the team sees signs that industry-specific and vertical models may emerge, leading to a broader range of winners in the AI arms race. Conversations with leading tech companies indicate that some executives are already seeing a return on their AI hardware investments. And a new generation of products from chip manufacturers is beginning to enter the market, which could mean a wider range of beneficiaries in the semiconductor industry from the AI wave.

Click here to access the full Goldman Sachs report.