Photo courtesyJoseph Pinto, CEO of Asset Management at M&G AM.
M&G plc announces the appointment of Joseph Pinto as its next Chief Executive Officer of M&G Asset Management.
Joseph will have accountability for all investment capabilities including the equity, fixed income, multi asset, private and alternative asset strategies alongside distribution, operations and proposition management across the Asset Management business.
Andrea Rossi, Group Chief Executive, M&G plc said: “M&G’s purpose is to help people manage and grow their savings and investments responsibly. Joseph brings to M&G a profound understanding of client needs and how they have evolved through changing economic conditions. He has a strong record of delivering on strategic ambitions in investment management, and I am confident his combination of commercial vision and pragmatic leadership will help transform how M&G delivers value to its clients and other stakeholders.”
With 30 years of experience in asset management, financial services, and consulting, Joseph joins from Natixis Investment Managers where he has served as a Head of Distribution and Investment Solutions for EMEA, APAC and LATAM and Global Chief Operating Officer.
Previously at AXA Investment Managers for 13 years, Joseph held senior positions, including Global Chief Operating Officer, Global Head of Markets & Investment Strategy and Head of Business Development for South Europe and the Middle East.
Joseph joins in March 2023 and will become a member of M&G’s Executive Committee, reporting to Chief Executive, Andrea Rossi. He is succeeding Jonathan (Jack) Daniels who, in July 2022, announced his intention to retire following 21 years with the business.
“The breadth of M&G’s active asset management capabilities combined with its strong balance sheet, has long provided innovative solutions for clients. I look forward to leading their respected investment teams to drive M&G’s international growth and sustainability agenda, while providing excellent outcomes for clients,” said Joseph Pinto, incoming Chief Executive Officer Asset Management, M&G plc.
The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Photo courtesyFabrice Chemouny, Head of International Distribution for Natixis IM
Fabrice Chemouny is appointed Head of International Distribution for Natixis Investment Managers, overseeing client and development activities for EMEA, APAC and LATAM. He was previously Head of Asia Pacific at Natixis Investment Managers and has more than 20 years of experience in asset management.
In addition, Christophe Lanne, Chief Administration Officer for Asset & Wealth Management, will oversee post-sales support activities for international distribution, as well as Natixis IM Solutions activities, in addition to his existing responsibilities for global operations and technology, human resources and corporate social responsibility strategy.
Fabrice Chemouny and Christophe Lanne will both report to Tim Ryan, Head of Asset & Wealth Management within Groupe BPCE’s Global Financial Services and will continue to serve on the Management Committee of Asset & Wealth Management.
“We remain committed to becoming the most client-centric asset and wealth manager, delivering the best experience for our clients throughout their investment journey. Fabrice and Christophe bring their robust experience and expertise to Natixis Investment Managers’ commercial development and operational excellence, in the benefits of our clients”, said Tim Ryan, Head of Asset & Wealth Management within Groupe BPCE’s Global Financial Services.
Fabrice Chemouny joined Natixis from CDC IXIS Group in 2000 as Senior Analyst in the Strategy Department. In 2003, Fabrice was appointed Executive Vice President, Head of International Strategy & Marketing at Natixis Investment Managers before becoming Head of Business Development and Affiliate Coordination. He was then appointed Executive Vice President, Global Head of Institutional Sales. In 2017, Fabrice became Head of Asia Pacific for Natixis Investment Managers.
Christophe Lanne began his career in 1990 with Banque Indosuez (now Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank) in the General Inspection department. In 1995, he first joined Global Markets in Paris, and later was named Head of Global Markets activities for the London platform. After holding several senior positions in Paris, in 2002 he became CEO of Crédit Agricole Indosuez Securities Japan and Head of Global Markets. Christophe joined Credit Suisse in 2005 as Managing Director and COO for France. He joined Natixis in 2010 as COO for Corporate & Investment Banking. He became Chief Risk Officer for Natixis in 2015, before joining Asset & Wealth Management in 2018 as Chief Transformation & Talent Officer and was appointed Chief Administration Officer in 2021.
KKR and Altavair L.P. announced that KKR is making an additional $1.15 billion commitment to expand its global portfolio of leased commercial aircraft in partnership with Altavair.
The investment will come from KKR’s credit and infrastructure funds.
KKR has deployed and committed $1.7 billion of capital into aircraft deals since forming a partnership with Altavair and acquiring an interest in the company in 2018.
KKR, in partnership with Altavair, has acquired more than 90 commercial and freighter aircraft through a variety of transactions, including lessor trades, airline direct used and new delivery sale leasebacks, structured transactions and passenger-to-freight conversions and has successfully leased more than 75% of the portfolio to tier-one airlines and operators around the world.
“We are thrilled to deepen our footprint in aircraft leasing through this new commitment, which underscores the conviction that we have in this space and our confidence in Altavair as a partner,” said Dan Pietrzak, KKR Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit. “We look forward to growing our portfolio further to support the fleet needs of airlines and operators around the world.”
“Airlines are increasingly seeking greater liquidity and fleet flexibility, which is creating significant opportunities for high quality leasing teams with deep access to private capital,” said Brandon Freiman, KKR Partner and Head of North American Infrastructure. “We are proud to serve this growing need in partnership with Altavair.”
“Aircraft leasing continues to be a dynamic and growing market that offers compelling and differentiated opportunities for experienced investors,” said Steve Rimmer, CEO of Altavair. “The portfolio that we’ve created over the past several years further evidences the power of combining KKR’s quality capital and capabilities with Altavair’s deep technical and aircraft investing expertise and innovation. We greatly appreciate KKR’s ongoing trust in our platform and look forward to building further on this success in the years to come.”
KKR has invested approximately $8.3 billion of capital in the aviation sector since 2015. Investments include Altavair, AV AirFinance, Atlantic Aviation, KKR DVB Aviation Capital, K2 Aviation, Wheels Up, Global Jet Capital and Jet Edge, among others.
Professional investors joke that the UK is turning into an emerging market (EM). This is a disservice to actual EM economies. In fact, in some respects less developed countries are proving a relative haven of stability – not least in the corporate bond market.
Broadly speaking, EM corporate borrowers are less vulnerable to capital flight than in the past due to greater local investor ownership of their bonds, have relatively low leverage and are by and large based in countries with robust macro-economic fundamentals. And at a time of general bond market volatility, yields on short duration EM corporate credit look particularly attractive (see Fig. 1).
Of course there is plenty of variation between regions and sectors, so investors need to be diligent in analysing corporate nitty gritty as well as having good understanding of the macro-economic picture. But such efforts are likely to be well rewarded: in many cases, EM corporate bonds are cheap compared with their fundamentals, such as, for instance, the yield spread they offer relative to leverage.
Fundamental attractions
EM companies have done exceptionally well so far in 2022, with revenues up 22 per cent and earnings up 27 per cent during the second quarter on the same period a year earlier. At the same time, their balance sheets are looking healthy, with net debt down 7 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter. This has helped reduce the net leverage ratio to some 1.2 times from 1.3 times in 2021 (excluding Russia and Ukraine for obvious reasons and real estate), according to JP Morgan research.
Many EM companies have built up their profit margins in the wake of the pandemic. This, in turn, leaves them better able to absorb among other things, higher costs from commodity price inflation. Take steel companies in India. The sector has been one of the hardest hit from rising input costs and more recently export taxes. Yet, due to their post-pandemic profit surge, domestic operators have been able to absorb a reduction of 6 percentage points in profit margins to a 12–month average of 21 per cent in Q1 versus a peak of 27 per cent last year.
For credit investors, this still represents a good margin of safety. Furthermore, while these rising input costs might prompt a tick up in leverage, large Indian steel makers have also been on a deleveraging trend for the past few years. Similarly, most other commodity exporters have been doing well.
Meanwhile, many retail-focused companies and those with premium products are in a strong position to maintain pricing power and thus keep up with inflation. In China, large and highly rated tech companies have maintained strong margins as their ultimate customers are to a good extent retail, as well as to the fact that inflation has been running at a considerably lower rate in China than elsewhere. Signals from central government that its regulatory clampdown has come to an end has also helped. At the same time, US restrictions on Chinese tech is having limited impact, restricted to chipmakers.
At the other end of the spectrum there are industries in which rapidly rising costs cannot immediately be passed on to customers and where there is no natural hedge against foreign exchange volatility, such as telecoms. We generally like the sector for its defensive characteristics and predictability of cash flow. But where companies have issued longer tenured contracts for instance for broadband, this means no opportunity to raise pricing for existing customers in the near-term.
What’s more, the more generic the product, the harder it is for companies to pass on costs. And some sectors have been heavily exposed to the energy shock – those utility companies not fortunate enough to be extracting oil or natural gas are feeling the pinch. This is especially the case for utility companies selling to retail customers, not least where governments have been keen to stem inflationary pressures by limiting how much costs are passed through to households.
Prudent financial policies and balance sheet deleveraging in the past five to 10 years have helped most EM corporations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East to prepare themselves for current financial market disruptions.
The wider good health of the EM corporate universe is reflected in its default rates. Strip out Russia, the Ukraine and Chinese real estate and the default rate is a mere 1.2 per cent year-to-date.
Sticking closer to home
EM corporations are also benefiting from increasingly mature domestic financial markets. Being less reliant on foreign sources of capital means that investment programmes are less prone to the whims of global finance and therefore can be more stable than in the past – domestic sources of finance also tend to be stickier. As these countries have grown richer, their banking sectors have become better able to service increasingly sophisticated domestic savers. Furthermore, domestic banking sector balance sheets have been built up in the wake of the Covid pandemic and thus enabled banks to extend credit actively again.
As such, companies in Indonesia, the Philippines and India in particular have increasingly been buying back their outstanding dollar denominated debt and refinanced through cheaper bank loans priced in local currency. That shift is being accelerated by the US dollar’s appreciation and rising US interest rates – increasing the cost of dollar funding – and the cost of these liabilities has helped push companies toward domestic lenders. So, for instance, Indian banks, supported by strong and improving credit quality, have been happy to extend credit and as a result their loan books have grown at a rate of some 12-15 per cent through the first half of 2022 (see Fig. 2).
And with many EM central banks either well ahead of developed market peers in tightening monetary policy or not needing to act as forcefully in combating inflation, funding rates there are likely to grow less significantly than they are for dollar borrowers – though determining the balance of effects here needs good macro analysis on the part of investors.
A good place to start
Seasoned investors know that entry points matter. As with other asset classes, EM debt has been battered during the past year. Overall, there was USD62 billion in cumulative outflows by September, though there were signs that this was stabilising, with around a quarter of that likely to have been in credit products.
Spreads over US Treasury bonds are generous – at 400 basis points against a ten-year average of 315 basis points. And given that Treasury bond yields are themselves at highs not seen in a decade, actual EM corporate yields are at levels not seen in years – 8.3 per cent, last seen in August 2009.1
With lower demand and market volatility, gross supply of EM corporate debt has slumped to USD196 billion so far in 2022 (as per end Sept), against around USD450 billion during the same period in 2021 (see Fig. 3). However, EM companies are relatively well insulated against current fixed income market gyrations. Many firms took advantage of historically low rates during recent years to extend the maturity of their debt, so there’s little in terms of a near-term financing wall, especially in high yield EM, where only USD85 billion comes due in 2023, USD95 billion in 2024 and USD100 billion in the following year.
Times of market stress create opportunities for investors who can pick out the diamonds from the shattered glass. There are plenty of these in the EM corporate universe, where investors are increasingly well compensated for taking on risk with yields that haven’t been seen in many years generated by high quality, well-run companies.
Opinion written by Sabrina Jacobs, Pictet Asset Management’s Senior Client Portfolio Manager
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) announces the launch of the AXA WF ACT Plastic & Waste Transition Equity QI fund which supports, on the long-term, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), in particular the SDG 12, Responsible consumption and production, by investing in companies that are limiting or managing in a sustainable way their plastic use or have efficient waste management practices.
Managed by the AXA IM Equity QI team, responsible for AXA IM’s quantitative equity capabilities, the fund invests in companies that are UN SDG 12 aligned, for example through the actions they are taking in their operations, such as production processes, recycling rates and supply chain management, to limit or manage in a sustainable way their plastic and waste footprint or because the company provides products that directly support responsible consumption and production.
The fund invests in large, mid and small cap companies across developed and emerging markets. The selection and weightings of the stocks is based on a proprietary quantitative process that incorporates both financial and non-financial data with the objective of identifying fundamental drivers of risk and return whilst structuring the portfolio in a way that meets the fund’s SDG objectives. As an example, the management team uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to increase exposure to companies that are actively articulating a plastic or waste approach in their earnings calls.
The fund forms part of AXA IM’s ACT range. It harnesses both external and internal data (including AXA IM qualitative SDG insights) to measure positive contributions of the companies to the UN SDG 12.
Commenting on the launch of the fund, Jonathan White, Head of Investment Strategy & Sustainability in AXA IM Equity QI team, said:“Companies that are reducing waste and supporting a more sustainable approach to their use of plastic play a key role in the effort to mitigate climate change and stem biodiversity loss.
We expect the next few years to be pivotal in plastics pollution mitigation driven by both government regulation and changing end-consumer preference. These structural trends are likely to drive significant growth in segments of the markets such as sustainable packaging and plastic recyclying.
As such its our view that companies that are facilitators or leaders in waste management and plastic-use are not only sustainable investments but could also be an attractive long term investment opportunity.”
The fund is or will be registered and available to professional and retail investors in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy (institutional only), the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Snowden Lane Partners and Estancia Capital Partners (“Estancia”), announced that Snowden Lane secured a new $100 million credit facility.
The new facility replaces a facility originally secured with ORIX Corporation in 2018 and subsequently expanded in early 2022. The $100 million of available credit will enable Snowden Lane to significantly bolster its recruiting momentum and position itself for sustained growth through 2023 and beyond.
In 2021, Snowden Lane recruited $2.4 billion in client assets and 13 advisors, and in 2022 the firm recruited over $1.5 billion in client assets and 10 advisors, making it one of the fastest-growing firms in the independent RIA space. Snowden Lane currently services ~$9 billion in client assets.
“We’re excited to kick off the new year with this announcement, as this additional, non-dilutive capital will allow us to execute our vision for the firm’s next stage of growth,” said Rob Mooney, Managing Partner & CEO of Snowden Lane Partners. “We are extremely grateful for Estancia’s support. Estancia continues as a committed partner since the early days of our business and played a crucial role helping Snowden Lane realize its potential. We look forward to continuing our shared success in the coming year.”
Takashi Moriuchi, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Estancia added: “Estancia’s most important investment criteria is always partnering with companies who have experienced management teams capable of executing on their growth strategy and maximizing value. Snowden Lane and its executive team is a prime example of why this is so important. Under the management team’s leadership, the firm rapidly become a key player in the independent wealth management space and is an attractive destination for advisors seeking a full-service alternative to the wirehouses. As Snowden Lane’s partner, we believe this financing provides even more support for management to continue attracting amazing financial advisors leading to even greater growth.”
Since its founding in 2011, Snowden Lane has built a national brand, attracting top industry talent from Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, UBS, JP Morgan, Raymond James, Wells Fargo, and Fieldpoint Private, among others, the firm said.
Similarly, Estancia raised $420 million in committed capital and nearly $150 million in co-investment capital across two funds, completed 14 platform investments and 18 add-on investments over the last decade.
Snowden Lane employs 132 total professionals, 72 of whom are financial advisors, across 12 offices around the country: Pasadena and San Diego, CA; New Haven, CT; Coral Gables, FL; Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA; Baltimore, Salisbury and Bethesda, MD; San Antonio, TX; Buffalo, NY, as well as its New York City headquarters.
In connection with the new facility, Apogem Capital served as joint lead arranger, joint bookrunner, and administrative agent. Monroe Capital also served as joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner.
Franklin Templeton has announced that effective March 31, 2023, Manraj Sekhon will assume the role of CIO of Templeton Global Equity (TGEI), leading both Templeton Global Equity Group (TGEG) and Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity (FT EME), following the departure of Alan Bartlett, CIO of TGEG, who will be leaving the firm to move on to the next phase of his career.
As announced in early 2022, Manraj Sekhon was named head of Templeton Global Equity Investments (TGEI), which combined the businesses of Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity (FT EME) and Templeton Global Equity Group (TGEG) under a single umbrella, while retaining the integrity of their respective investment philosophies and processes and continuing to share best practices.
“Sekhon is a seasoned investor and investment executive, who has been leading FT EME for the past five years, since joining as its CIO in 2018. He has more than 25 years of experience researching and investing in global and international markets and managing investment teams and processes,” the firm said.
In his expanded role, Sekhon will have CIO responsibilities for both groups and will be supported by the respective Management Committees of FT EME and TGEG, which have representation from senior investment and business leaders, who manage day-to-day investment and business development activities and work jointly to set the strategic direction of the two teams.
“We expect this change to be seamless for our clients, as day-to-day investment decision making for both teams remains unchanged. Bartlett is not a named portfolio manager for any TGEG strategies or portfolios,” the press release added.
Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity consists of over 70 investment professionals across 13 offices globally, and manages USD 30 billion in global, regional, single-country, small cap, frontier and specialty strategies as of November 30, 2022.
Templeton Global Equity Group consists of 38 portfolio managers and analysts located across seven offices globally, and manages USD 36 billion in Opportunities, Select, Sustainability, Balanced, Leaders, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Small Cap strategies as of November 30, 2022.
BlackRock plans to dismiss about 500 employees, about 2.5% of its global workforce.
“The uncertainty around us makes it more important than ever that we stay ahead of changes in the market and focus on delivering for our clients,” CEO Larry Fink and Chairman Rob Kapito wrote Wednesday in a note to employees accessed by Bloomberg.
One of the world’s biggest asset managers faced steep declines in equity and fixed-income markets last year.
It is the first round of job cuts at BlackRock since 2019, and will still leave the workforce about 5% higher than a year ago, Bloomberg claims.
The firm, which will report its fourth-quarter results this Friday, had about 19,900 employees at the end of September.
Rising inflation and rising interest rates have rattled asset managers and markets, with the S&P 500 index plunging 19% in the past year.
The firm, with $7.96 trillion in assets under management at the end of the third quarter, did not specify which businesses will be most affected by the job cuts.
The company’s two leaders said in the note that they would work to “manage expenses prudently” and invest profitably.
The executives sought to emphasize the firm’s ability to take in new client money. Flows into its long-term investment funds increased by $250 billion through the first nine months of last year, and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predict they brought in an additional $116 billion in the fourth quarter.
“Our breadth and resilience,” Fink and Kapito wrote, “allow us to play offense when others pull back.”
BNP Paribas announced its plans to open a new office in the metro-Miami area.
The Miami office will support the continued growth of its Global Markets business in the US, amongst others, and the increasing number of clients with a foothold in South Florida. The hub will provide an additional gateway to its regional clients, as well as expand on its network of US campuses.
The new office will be located at 801 Brickell Avenue in Miami’s financial hub, officially open for business in the 4th Quarter 2023, and employ nearly 50 full-time professionals in credit, equities, and macro products. A seven and a half year lease for the office was recently signed.
José Placido, Chief Executive Officer of CIB Americas at BNP Paribas, said: “Our new office is another recent example of scaling our business in ways that fully support our client’s ambitions, as more of our clients build a presence in South Florida. With this opportunity to better serve our clients, we deliver on our ambitions to grow our corporate and institutional banking franchise in the Americas. Our new Miami office also continues with our ‘workplace of the future’ model, focusing on wellbeing and employee experience.”
John Gallo, Head of Global Markets Americas at BNP Paribas, said: “We’re very excited to be in the growing business environment of South Florida. This office will allow us to be closer and better serve our clients, many of whom have also migrated to the area, particularly Miami and Palm Beach.”
BNP Paribas has recently made several large real estate actions in the US including opening a new office in the Philadelphia area in October 2021. The bank has also made significant facilities and work space commitments in its two metro New York City offices in Midtown West Manhattan and Jersey City, NJ. BNP Paribas signed 20 year leases for all three properties in the greater NYC and Philadelphia areas in July 2020. The group also has offices in the following major cities* (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco and Washington, DC).
BNP Paribas’ Miami campus will be the latest example of the bank’s efforts to create best-in-class platforms and products for its local Miami-area clients, the report says. As BNP Paribas continues to pursue and execute on its growth ambitions in the region, the Miami office will integrate seamlessly with its other offices.
Luca Paolini, Pictet Asset Management's Chief Strategist, and Arun Sai, Pictet Asset Management's Senior Multi Asset Strategist
2023 will be a year when the investment environment slowly gets back to normality. Inflation will come down – even if not quite as fast as the market seems to expect. Economies will struggle for growth, but manage to stave off a deep downturn.
Equities are set to tread water, but fundamentals will suit high quality bonds. Meanwhile, emerging market assets, particularly local currency debt, are set to shine amid a weakening dollar and a revival in the Chinese economy.
The global slowdown – a number of indicators suggest various leading economies might already be in recession – has been the most anticipated one in living memory. Central banks have responded to this year’s surge in inflation by putting on the brakes, and that’s filtering through to their economies. As a result, global annualised quarterly real GDP growth is set to run at below potential through to at least the final three months of 2023 (see Fig. 1).
But at the same time, the slowdown is likely to be less painful than past recessions. Corporate and household balance sheets are healthy, both still have excess savings built up during the Covid crisis, particularly in the US. This has allowed them to absorb some of the impact of inflation, while at the same time banks have continued to lend. Nominal growth, which is key to economies’ resilience, has been running at some 10 per cent, largely on the back of very high inflation. So, unlike during the global financial crisis of 2008, this time there is no sign of a looming debt crisis in any of these economic segments.
An inflationary hurdle
Inflation will remain a hurdle, but it won’t be the market’s primary driver during the coming year (see Fig. 2). While there are signs it has already peaked in most major economies, we think investors are too optimistic about how fast inflation is likely to fall. The jobs market especially in the US remains strong, supporting wages. And components such as rents, which are a sizeable proportion of the consumption basket, are slow moving, taking longer to normalise.
We also believe central banks will be cautious about entering into a new easing cycle – certainly, they won’t make the switch anywhere near as quickly as the market expects. In part that’s because central bankers are particularly sensitive to the risks of cutting rates before inflation has been fully suppressed. To do so would risk another, even less controllable surge in inflation, which would shatter their credibility and force even more drastic efforts to get back to price stability. We don’t think they will start to ease policy until 2024.
Direction of travel is key
What matters most for markets, however, is that official rates will have stopped rising. The end of monetary tightening will be greeted with relief, giving a lift to high quality debt – both sovereign bonds and investment grade credit. Shorter maturity debt is likely to benefit first, with bonds further along the yield curve showing more modest gains amid expectations of an economic revival. Investors should be more cautious about higher yielding debt, with the economic downturn is set to push up default rates.
And once rates peak, equities should start to benefit from improving valuation multiples offsetting weaker earnings – though that’s more a story for the second half of the year.
With the US further along its tightening cycle than other major central banks, a peak in US rates is likely to put downward pressure on the dollar. The greenback is already considerably overvalued and its long-term fundamentals are poor – a currency’s long-term value is determined by fiscal discipline and productivity growth and the US scores badly on both counts.
A weakening dollar will be beneficial to emerging market assets, particularly emerging market local currency debt, which we see as a bright spot on the investment landscape, not just during the coming year but for some time to come. Further support for emerging market bonds and stocks is set to come from China’s economic revival. We think that the government will have to respond to recent protest against its draconian zero-Covid policy by relaxing restrictions. At the same time, it has been offering some support to the country’s vital but beleaguered real estate sector. Together, we think these effects will underpin growth of some 5 per cent over the coming year. Healthier Chinese growth will also benefit other emerging Asian economies.
In a nutshell, 2023 will be a year of caution for investors. But after a miserable 2022, when virtually all asset classes suffered drawdowns (with the notable exception of energy), there will also be reasons for cautious optimism.
Opinion written by Luca Paolini, Pictet Asset Management’s Chief Strategist, and Arun Sai, Pictet Asset Management’s Senior Multi Asset Strategist
