On the path to increased investment in private assets, several American associations have just won a significant battle against the powerful regulator thanks to a court ruling that deems the SEC incompetent to introduce its Private Fund Adviser Rule (PFAR).
The successful legal challenge was brought by a group of industry bodies: the National Association of Private Fund Managers; the Alternative Investment Management Association; the American Investment Council (AIC); the Loan Syndications and Trading Association; the Managed Funds Association; and the National Venture Capital Association.
The PFAR, introduced in August 2023, aimed to promote transparency, competition, and efficiency “on behalf of all investors, big or small, institutional or retail, sophisticated or not.”
But the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the SEC lacked the legal authority to introduce these rules, which required, among other things, that SEC-registered managers provide investors with certain disclosures, quarterly statements on compensation, fees, expenses, and performance of fund advisers, and annual audits of each fund’s financial statements, as well as opinions or valuations on secondary transactions.
Additionally, the regulation prohibited preferential treatment or information to any investor regarding redemptions.
According to a report by Preqin, this judicial outcome will not only have consequences in the United States but will also impact the global alternative assets industry.
Reactions to a Decision That Could Be a Double-Edged Sword
The AIC called the PFAR “illegal, unjustified, and ultimately harmful to investors.” Drew Maloney, the association’s president and CEO, described the court ruling as “a victory for thousands of businesses across the United States that need capital to grow and millions of workers who rely on private equity and credit to strengthen their retirements.”
The Wall Street Journal celebrated the defeat of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
On the other hand, the President and CEO of the Investment Company Institute (ICI), Eric J. Pan, stated that “the Fifth Circuit’s decision overturning the SEC’s private fund adviser rule is a clear acknowledgment by the court of the serious issues that ICI has raised about regulation by hypothesis. We echo the court’s concerns that the SEC acted outside its mandate. As we await action on dozens of similarly overreaching SEC proposals, we hope the SEC will take the time to study this decision and pay more attention to the serious concerns expressed by the public and market participants on issues such as liquidity risk management, safeguarding, and outsourcing.”
However, Jennifer Choi, Executive Director of the Institutional Limited Partners Association, warned that without mandatory minimum standards for critical information on performance, fees, and expenses, LPs will have to negotiate terms “that should be common sense.” She was disappointed that the court did not recognize the SEC’s long-standing authority to protect private market investors.
Heather Heys, Vice President, and Michael Gallagher, Senior Associate, of Preqin’s Legal Insights team, suggest that LPs will now rely more than ever on their own legal and financial advice and understanding of standard market fees and terms in limited partnership agreements. And this, for many investors, could mean a steep learning curve.
Edmond de Rothschild has announced its plans to establish a presence in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with Watar Partners, an independent financial services firm. This initiative includes the launch of an infrastructure debt strategy in the country, in partnership with SNB Capital, a leading Saudi asset manager. The local partner in the joint venture, Watar Partners, will provide a multidisciplinary financial services team experienced in advising a broad base of Saudi clients. Edmond de Rothschild will contribute its infrastructure debt team, which manages over €5 billion in assets across 18 countries.
As a first step, Edmond de Rothschild aims to establish a new infrastructure debt fund platform designed to play a crucial role in financing projects throughout Saudi Arabia. This aligns with the country’s Vision 2030 program, which sets ambitious goals for developing local infrastructure in key areas such as transportation, energy, energy transition, digital, social services, utilities, and the circular economy. This investment platform will provide additional liquidity to existing equity and senior debt instruments and will be structured alongside SNB Capital. “This partnership offers deep knowledge of the region’s financing needs and its ambitious multi-trillion dollar infrastructure program,” they noted.
Edmond de Rothschild and Watar Partners also announced the creation of a joint venture to expand Edmond de Rothschild’s expertise in infrastructure debt investment in the region. Scheduled for the second half of 2024, the joint venture will focus on offering infrastructure debt solutions and advisory services to Saudi family offices and institutional investors. It plans to open a local office in Riyadh in the second half of 2024 and hire local resources. The launch of the strategy and the creation of the joint venture are subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory licenses and approvals.
“I am extremely pleased to establish a presence for Edmond de Rothschild in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through this partnership with SNB Capital and Watar Partners. This is a logical step for our group, based on long-standing business relationships with the country. Edmond de Rothschild brings an excellent track record in infrastructure debt in Europe. I am confident that this experience will benefit the realization of the Vision 2030 program, which perfectly aligns with our mission to foster sustainable growth and development around strong roots and heritage. We look forward to contributing to the future development of the country’s infrastructure and increasing our long-term presence to serve this important market,” said Ariane de Rothschild, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild.
Following this launch, Rashed Sharif, CEO of SNB Capital, stated: “We are delighted to collaborate with Edmond de Rothschild as the investment house deepens its relationship with Saudi Arabia. As the Kingdom’s and Middle East’s largest asset manager, SNB Capital is poised to unlock growth opportunities in the infrastructure space, from transportation to renewable energies. We are confident in driving sustainable impact and creating a local growth engine that supports the ambitious goals of Vision 2030. Strategic international relationships that enable us to continue playing our role in fostering innovation and financial solutions are crucial to our strategic goals, and we value partners who share our vision for achieving lasting market development.”
Lastly, Abdulwahab A. Al Betairi, Managing Partner of Watar Partners, added: “We are extremely pleased to partner with one of Europe’s most renowned financial franchises. Edmond de Rothschild is a name that comes with a great reputation and heritage, as well as sophisticated investment expertise. I firmly believe that Edmond de Rothschild will bring the knowledge and experience we need to fulfill the plans of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives.”
South Summit Madrid 2024, co-organized by IE University, held its 13th edition from June 5 to 7. The flagship event for the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem brought together over 6,500 entrepreneurs at La Nave in Madrid, enabling high-value connections with 6,000 corporate representatives and 2,000 investors from around the world, with a combined investment portfolio exceeding $500 billion—$174 billion more than last year.
During the three-day event, #SouthSummit24 welcomed over 18,000 attendees from 133 different countries, eight more countries than the previous edition, highlighting the event’s deep international character.
South Summit Madrid 2024 attracted more than 300 media outlets from around the globe, as well as over 700 renowned international speakers who discussed the latest trends in entrepreneurship, innovation, and the need to place humans at the center of technological evolution, in line with this year’s theme: ‘Human by Design’. Notably, six out of ten speakers were from international backgrounds: after Spain, the United Kingdom contributed the most speakers with 12.7% of the total, followed by the United States (10%), Germany (6.7%), and France (4.5%).
Among these speakers, Steven Bartlett, an entrepreneur, writer, investor, and author of Europe’s most-listened-to podcast ‘The Diary of a CEO’, emphasized the importance of embracing failure as part of the learning process. Mateo Salvatto, CEO and founder of Asteroid Techs, also stood out; at just 18 years old, he founded a startup that assists over 400,000 people with disabilities.
#SouthSummit24 also featured founders of 26 international unicorns, such as Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Booking and director of the Global Entrepreneurship Network; Uri Levine, founder and CEO of Waze and Moovit; and Vincent Rosso, co-founder of BlaBlaCar Spain and Consentio. These leaders shared their insights on technologies like artificial intelligence and offered advice on launching and scaling a project to achieve business success.
The winner of the ‘Startup Competition at the 13th edition of South Summit Madrid’ was the Madrid-based startup Invopop, which helps companies issue invoices in any country by registering sales, converting them into invoice formats, and communicating with the relevant tax authorities. Additionally, four other awards were given: the Barcelona-based startup Sycai was chosen as the ‘Most Disruptive’, Murcia-based Navilens as the ‘Most Sustainable’, and Madrid-based Shakers and Embat as the ‘Most Scalable’ and the startup with the ‘Best Team’, respectively.
#SouthSummit24 was supported by the Secretariat of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, the Community of Madrid, and the City Council of Madrid, as well as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Endesa, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation, and Banco Sabadell’s BStartup.
AQR has launched a new UCITS market-neutral and Article 8 fund, AQR Adaptive Equities. This is an equity market-neutral fund aiming to offer high returns without correlation to traditional markets.
The strategy employs the most sophisticated and comprehensive expression of AQR’s stock selection models to deliver alpha through a highly diversified portfolio (over 800 long and 800 short positions) in developed companies (both large and small-cap).
The strategy aims to deliver around a 6% return above the risk-free rate (in the long term and net of fees). In the current environment (with the cash dollar yielding 5%), the total return target would be around 11%.
The strategy has more than three years of track record (launched in February 2021) and, during this period, has delivered over 17% annualized net return. In terms of risk, it aims for a volatility target between 6%-10% and low correlation with the markets. Since its launch, it has offered an annualized volatility of 7.3% and a -0.3 correlation with the MSCI World.
The newly launched UCITS fund is available to retail and institutional investors through the usual channels. It will offer exposure to the original strategy with an ESG bias (in an Article 8 fund according to the SFDR) and daily liquidity (with two days’ notice for redemptions).
Fisher Investments (FI) has announced that Advent International (Advent) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADIA (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) have agreed to make a minority investment in Fisher Investments, the namesake firm of Ken Fisher. According to the company, the investment by Advent and ADIA, ranging from at least $2.5 billion to $3 billion, values FI at $12.75 billion.
After the closing of this transaction, which is expected to occur by the end of this year, Ken Fisher will remain active in his current role as Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of FI, and the management led by CEO Damian Ornani will continue to drive the firm forward. “The investment will not affect clients, employees, or the daily operations of FI. The completion of the transaction is subject to certain approvals and the fulfillment of other customary closing conditions,” they state.
The announcement explains that this transaction was part of Ken Fisher’s long-term estate planning and allows FI, under the leadership of Damian Ornani, to continue operating as an independent wealth and asset management firm and private investment advisor. Ken Fisher, founder and Executive Chairman of FI, will sell personal stakes in FI to funds managed by Advent and ADIA. For Advent and ADIA, the deal was an opportunity for a long-term investment in one of the world’s largest investment advisors. Investors in Advent’s vehicles include funds managed by Lunate Capital Limited, Mousse Partners, and FI’s long-time largest institutional client, the National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea. This is the first external investment in FI, as ownership was previously exclusive to family and employees. Once the transaction closes, Ken Fisher will retain the majority of effective ownership and voting shares exceeding 70%. No other FI investment transactions are contemplated. The investment in common shares does not include options or preferences over non-common shares and includes voting proportional to the effective ownership of the investors. After closing, David Mussafer, Managing Partner of Advent, will join FI’s board of directors.
“This transaction provides us with an independent track with truly exceptional institutional investors who can bring their wisdom, value our unique culture and goals, and want us to keep doing what we have always done, bigger and better, while pioneering never-before-implemented solutions to benefit our clients and employees,” stated Damian Ornani, FI’s long-time CEO.
Ken Fisher added, “This transaction addresses both estate and tax planning, while ensuring that FI will maintain its traditional culture, growth evolution, and dedication to exceptional client service. FI has been my life. While my health is excellent, this transaction with an atypically long holding period for a private equity transaction will ensure FI’s independence and private culture long-term in case something adverse happens to me. And we will have the support of world-class partners who understand us operationally and culturally and value who we are and will be.”
Regarding the transaction, David Mussafer, Managing Partner of Advent, declared, “We are excited to support one of the leading financial services brands that clients trust for their personalized approach to wealth management. Ken, Damian, and the rest of the management team have built a tremendous organization over the past 45 years. We are honored to partner with them to support the next phase of FI’s growth while upholding the unique culture that is fundamental to its success.”
JP Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets acted as joint financial advisors, and Paul Hastings acted as legal advisor to FI in this transaction. Ropes & Gray served as legal advisor to Advent. Gibson Dunn served as legal advisor to ADIA.
BlackRock expands investor options with five new iShares MSCI Climate Transition Aware UCITS ETFs. According to the asset manager, this launch aims to provide access to leading companies in the transition to a low-carbon economy. It focuses on investing in companies based on their greenhouse gas emissions intensity relative to the sector and the measures they take to reduce emissions. Their expectation, based on their own survey, is that 56% of global institutional investors plan to increase their allocations to transition strategies in the next three years, with nearly half stating it as their top priority.
The range of funds offers investors tools to build equity portfolios that seek sector neutrality, using global and regional building blocks, while mitigating risks and capturing opportunities associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy. BlackRock believes this transition is a mega force affecting markets. In their view, the transition to a low-carbon economy involves profound changes unfolding over decades, reshaping production and consumption, and stimulating significant capital investment. BlackRock Investment Institute has identified several mega forces reshaping markets, including technological innovation, geopolitical fragmentation, and aging populations. BlackRock provides investors seeking to incorporate transition-related considerations into their portfolios with a broad range of options, both in active and index solutions.
“Innovation is central to BlackRock’s approach to developing products and solutions for clients as investors become more sophisticated in their investment goals. The transition to a low-carbon economy is set to drive significant capital reallocation as energy systems and technologies continue to evolve and develop. With the launch of the Climate Transition Aware range, we are expanding the variety we offer to clients seeking to mitigate investment risks and capitalize on the opportunities of this transition,” said Manuela Sperandeo, Head of iShares Product for EMEA at BlackRock.
The MSCI Transition Aware Select Index methodology includes companies that meet at least one of the following selection criteria: Science-based targets: Companies are selected if they have set one or more greenhouse gas emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Green revenues: Companies are selected if they derive 20% or more of their revenue from green revenues. Emissions intensity: The index methodology ranks companies based on their greenhouse gas emissions intensity, provided they have published emission reduction targets. Subsequently, the index aims to select the top 50% of companies by sector.
The index methodology also excludes companies with “very severe ESG controversies” according to MSCI and those not complying with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Principles. Companies involved in controversial weapons, tobacco, thermal coal mining, thermal coal power generation, and unconventional oil and gas extraction are also excluded. Within the Energy, Materials, Industrials, and Utilities sectors according to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), additional exclusions are applied based on emissions intensity and those without targets or reporting. The exclusions of the fund range comply with the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (CTB) exclusion criteria.
Finally, Sebastian Lieblich, Managing Director and Head of Index Solutions EMEA at MSCI, added: “Investors are increasingly seeking data and tools to help them adapt their strategies to better manage the challenges and opportunities arising from the transition to a low-carbon economy. Clarity on companies’ commitments to reducing their carbon footprint through published targets, as well as their revenues from green businesses, is key in this process. The MSCI Transition Aware Select Index methodology can play a central role for investors looking to incorporate these parameters into their decision-making.”
In December 2023, Santander Private Banking revealed, through an internal memo, 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 their interest in expanding their business in the United Arab Emirates. In this context, the entity has strengthened the Dubai team with the hiring of four new professionals over the past month: Jacques-Antoine Lecointre, Kamran Butt, Mustafa Asif Mahmood, and Fady E. Eid.
The most recent addition is Jacques-Antoine Lecointre, who joins the team as Operations Director at the Dubai International Financial Centre branch. Lecointre, with over 20 years of industry experience, comes to Santander from Swyt Solutions, a firm he co-founded. He has also held positions at BNP Paribas Wealth Management as Chief Operating Officer – Middle East, Bank of Singapore, and Barclays Wealth Management.
Other new hires include Kamran Butt as the new Head of Products and CIO for the Middle East, joining from HSBC Private Banking, and Mustafa Asif Mahmood as the new Executive Banker for Global NRI and International Clients. Like Lecointre, these two professionals join the branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre as part of the Santander Private Banking International team.
Lastly, a month ago, Fady E. Eid joined Santander Private Banking as the Head of Market for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. “Delighted to join Banco Santander International SA (DIFC Branch) as Market Head GCC, based in Dubai. I look forward to working with Alfonso Castillo, Antonio Costa Ortuño, and Masroor Batin, and thank you for the warm welcome,” he stated on social media following his joining the entity. Eid, who began his professional career in 1990 at Merrill Lynch as First Vice President Investments, comes to Santander from Opto Investments, where he was CEO Middle East.
The Spanish entity’s interest in this region goes beyond Dubai. In March of this year, it announced its entry into the Qatari market with a representative office in Doha, led by Ziad El-Saigh, who joined the bank from Credit Suisse. “In Private Banking, we already have a leading global platform in investment flows between Latin America, Europe, and the United States. Looking ahead, we are developing key growth opportunities to expand our presence, such as in the U.S. domestic market and the Middle East,” the entity stated in its first-quarter 2024 earnings report.
New record for the ETF industry. The assets of these vehicles worldwide reached 12.89 trillion dollars at the end of May, according to data compiled by ETFGI, an independent research and consulting firm specializing in ETFs. A snapshot of the global ETF industry in May 2023 shows there are 12,313 products, with 24,729 listings, from 752 providers listed on 80 exchanges in 63 countries.
“The S&P 500 index increased by 4.96% in May and has risen by 11.30% so far in 2024. The index of developed markets excluding the U.S. increased by 3.62% in May and by 6.09% so far in 2024. Norway and Portugal saw the largest increases among developed markets in May. The emerging markets index increased by 1.17% during May and has risen by 4.97% so far in 2024. Egypt and the Czech Republic saw the largest increases among emerging markets in May,” notes Deborah Fuhr, managing partner, founder, and owner of ETFGI.
In terms of flows, during May, there were 126.32 billion dollars in inflows, bringing the total inflows to 594.19 billion dollars during the first five months of the year. Equity ETFs reported inflows of 64.73 billion dollars, and fixed-income ETFs reported inflows of 32.93 billion dollars during May. Commodity ETFs also stood out, reporting inflows of 768.14 million dollars.
Active ETFs, which have gained great popularity in both the U.S. and European markets, captured 27.53 billion dollars in May, accumulating 125.11 billion so far this year, a new record compared to 2023.
“The substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by new net assets, which collectively gathered 51.59 billion dollars during May. Leading this ranking is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY US), which gathered 8.99 billion dollars, the largest individual net inflow,” notes ETFGI. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, Invesco QQQ Trust, and iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF complete the top five positions in this ranking.
The Euro 2024 kicks off today, June 14, with the opening ceremony and the inaugural match between Germany and Scotland. But the beautiful game will be in the spotlight not only for the goals but also for the significant investments it attracts. In short, many things are happening in football both on and off the field, according to an analysis by Preqin.
While the ball rolls in Germany, Manchester City, the champion of England, has taken legal action against the English Premier League (EPL) over rules concerning clubs’ commercial deals with companies linked to their owners. This move could “drastically alter the landscape of professional football,” according to a recent publication by the London Times. Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi through his City Football Group, in which the international private equity firm Silver Lake also has a significant stake.
In an era where fund managers have become key players in sports, complex financial ties are increasingly common. However, external ownership is not welcome everywhere.
Last year, Advent International, Blackstone, CVC, and EQT were interested in buying a €1 billion stake in the broadcasting rights of the German Bundesliga. But the DFL Deutsche Fußball-Liga abandoned the deal in February amid widespread fan protests that included chocolate coins and fireworks tied to remote-controlled cars. CVC already owns a stake in the broadcasting rights of France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel.
Germany remains an outlier, partly because its clubs are protected from full shareholder takeovers. In England, Clearlake Capital holds a stake in Chelsea. Newly promoted to the EPL, Ipswich Town received £105 million for 40% of its capital from Ohio-based Bright Path Sports Partners in March.
Everton, a Premier League club, recently saw a potential deal with 777 Partners fall through. This Miami-based company’s investments in European football include Genoa, Sevilla, and Standard Liège.
RedBird Capital Partners (AC Milan, Toulouse, and Liverpool), based in New York, recently raised $4.7 billion to invest in sports, media, and financial services. Like the 24 national teams competing in the Euro 2024, their goal is to succeed in the world’s greatest sport.
Voya Investment Management (Voya IM) has hired Tiffani Potesta as the new Head of Distribution, who will join the company on July 8. She will be based at the New York headquarters and will report to Matt Toms, CEO of Voya IM.
In her role, she will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of distribution for Voya IM’s institutional and intermediary businesses, including defining the strategic direction in national and international sales, distribution strategy, product positioning, client service, and relationship management.
“We are pleased to announce that Tiffani will be joining Voya IM to lead our Distribution team. Tiffani brings a wealth of experience across multiple facets of the industry, and I am confident that her expertise will benefit both our clients and Voya. We look forward to Tiffani’s leadership as we continue to strengthen our distribution of investment products and services globally across institutional, sub-advisory, and intermediary channels,” said Matt Toms, CEO of Voya IM.
Potesta has over 20 years of experience in the asset management industry, where she spent most of her career designing and implementing business and distribution strategies, ensuring asset longevity, mitigating risks, and fostering revenue and client diversification. She joins Voya IM from Schroder Investment Management North America, where she held various leadership positions, most recently as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Distribution. Previously, she held account management roles at Deutsche Bank, First Eagle Funds, and Allianz Global Investors.
