Deutsche Asset Management names David Bianco as Chief Investment Strategist for the Americas and Head of Equities in the US

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Deutsche Asset Management names David Bianco as Chief Investment Strategist for the Americas and Head of Equities in the US
Foto: Ildefonso Rodríguez Morales . Deutsche Asset Management nombra a David Bianco director de estrategia de inversión para las Américas y director de renta variable estadounidense

Following the appointment of Petra Pflaum as Chief Investment Officer for Responsible Investments, Deutsche Asset Management (Deutsche AM) has announced that David Bianco has been named Chief Investment Strategist for the Americas and Head of Equities in the US. Based in New York, he will report globally to Stefan Kreuzkamp, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Active Asset Management, and regionally to Bob Kendall, Head of Deutsche Asset Management, Americas.

In his dual roles, Bianco will play an integral part in assisting clients with portfolio construction across Deutsche AM’s full range of investment vehicles and asset classes, and will also lead a team of experienced investors responsible for the management of the active equity assets in the Americas.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome David to our organization,” said Bob Kendall, Head of Deutsche Asset Management in the Americas. “David is a well-respected and familiar face within our industry and will be a key public figure for us in presenting to our clients Deutsche Asset Management’s global views on markets, economies and policies.”

Bianco has more than 20 years of investment research experience and a decade of experience as an equity strategist. He has been the bank’s US Equity Strategist since 2012. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Bianco held the position of Head US Equity Strategist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch Investment Research and Global Wealth Management. Before BofA, he spent seven years at UBS and five years at Financial Account Standards Board’s Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.

Tikehau IM Names Gen Oba as Marketing and International Development Director

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Tikehau IM Names Gen Oba as Marketing and International Development Director
Foto: Moyan Brenn, Flickr, Creative Commons. Tikehau IM nombra a Gen Oba director de Desarrollo Internacional y Marketing

Tikehau IM has appointed Gen Oba as director of marketing and international development.

Oba will support the executive management team of Tikehau IM to further expand the firm in France and abroad. He will be responsible for the development of Tikehau IM’s marketing strategy and the development of the firm’s relationship with large international clients.

The executive joins Tikehau Capital after 18 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he managed and developed relationships with key international clients, executed major strategic and capital market transactions, and last served as managing director of Investment Banking.

Oba started his career  in 1996 at Rothschild in Paris and then at BNP Paribas in New York. He is a graduate from H.E.C.

Banco Santander Receives 18 Bids to Buy Allfunds

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Banco Santander Receives 18 Bids to Buy Allfunds
Pixabay CC0 Public Domain. Recta final para conocer el destino de Allfunds: podría haber recibido 18 ofertas de compra

Banco Santander has received 18 bids to buy mutual fund platform Allfunds. The sale value is estimated at €2bn and the operation could be closed this month, according to Spanish media.

Local newspaper Cinco Dias reported the deadline to receive offers is next Friday 13 January. There will be then an additional deadline to shortlist bids. The final list of possible buyers will be available by the last week of this month.

Among the candidates to buy Europe’s largest fund platform are private equity Bain Capital, Advent and Hellman & Friedman, along withCinven, Permira and BC Partners.

Allfunds valuation range oscillates between €1.5bn and €2bn sources said, adding that the sale process is “very advanced” and an IPO is the least likely scenario.

In November last year, Santander reached an agreement with Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic to buy back the 50% stake in its asset-management unit.

Santander, which sold the unit to the two private equity firms in 2013 for €2bn, did not disclose the value of the transaction involving full ownership of the asset manager.

As part of the transaction Santander, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic agreed to work towards the disposal of their participation in Allfunds Bank through a trade sale or an initial public offering (IPO).

Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, which owns the rest, also explores a sale, the company confirmed at the time.

Colbert Narcisse Appointed Morgan Stanley WM´s New Head of International Wealth Management

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Colbert Narcisse Appointed Morgan Stanley WM´s New Head of International Wealth Management
Foto: LinkedIn . Colbert Narcisse, nombrado director del negocio internacional de Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has appointed Colbert Narcisse as the new Head of International Wealth Management, succeeding James Jesse, effective immediately.

Funds Society could confirm Colbert’s previous responsibilities as Leader of Product Strategy and Development in Morgan Stanley’s investment solutions division will be spread across existing team members. Beyond that, the company did have no further comment at this time.

Narcisse joined Morgan Stanley’s investment management division in 2011 as the head of alternative investments, according to LinkedIn. He previously worked in senior roles at Merrill Lynch.

James Jesse left the company recently, as confirmed last Friday by Morgan Stanley. Jesse joined the firm in 2000 in the fixed income division, and became part of the wealth management unit in 2006.

November Was Negative for the Investment Fund Market

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November Was Negative for the Investment Fund Market

In its latest Global Fund Market Statistics Report for November from Thomson Reuters Lipper, Otto Christian Kober, Global Head of Methodology at Thomson Reuters Lipper, highlights the main movements in assets under management in the global collective investment funds market, which fell US$ 133.3 billion (-0.4%) for November and stood at US$ 36.66 trillion at the end of the month.

Estimated net inflows accounted for US$ 28.2 billion, while US$ 161.5 billion was removed because of the negatively performing markets. On a year-to-date basis assets increased US$ 1,644.2 billion (+4.7%). Included in the overall year-to-date asset change figure were US$ 515.0 billion of estimated net inflows.

Compared to a year ago, assets increased US$ 1,340.3 billion (+3.8%). Included in the overall one-year asset change figure were US$ 606.6 billion of estimated net inflows. The average overall return in U.S.-dollar terms was a negative 1.8% at the end of the reporting month, underperforming the 12-month moving average return by 2.0 percentage points and underperforming the 36-month moving average return by 1.7 percentage points.

Fund Market by Asset Type, Novemeber

Most of the net new money for November was attracted by money market funds, accounting for US$ 67.9 billion, followed by equity funds and real estate funds, at US $18.2 billion and US$0.2 billion of net inflows, respectively. Bond funds, at negative US$ 39.3 billion, were at the bottom of the table for November, bettered by mixed-asset funds and alternatives funds, at US$ 7.6 billion and US$ 6.7 billion of net outflows, respectively. All asset types posted negative returns for the month, with equity funds at minus 0.8%, followed by alternatives funds and commodity funds, both at minus 1.6% returns on average. Bond funds, at negative 3.0%, bottom-performed, bettered by money market funds and mixed-asset funds, at negative 2.3% and negative 2.0%, respectively.

Fund Market by Asset Type, Year to Date

Most of the net new money for the year to date was attracted by bond funds, accounting for US$ 446.5 billion, followed by money market funds and commodity funds, with US$ 160.7 billion and US$ 24.3 billion of net inflows, respectively. Equity funds, with a negative US$87.0 billion, were at the bottom of the table for the year to date, bettered by alternatives funds and mixed-asset funds, with US$ 33.3 billion of net outflows and US$ 5.6 billion of net outflows, respectively. The best performing funds for the year to date were commodity funds at 7.1%, followed by equity funds and mixed-asset funds, with 4.4% and 3.7% returns on average. Alternatives funds, at negative 1.3% bottom-performed, bettered by money market funds and real estate funds, at negative 0.8% and negative 0.7%, respectively.

Fund Market by Asset Type, Last Year

Most of the net new money for the one-year period was attracted by bond funds, accounting for US$ 426.9 billion, followed by money market funds and commodity funds, with US$ 220.2 billion and US$ 23.2 billion of net inflows, respectively. Alternatives funds, at negative US$ 46.3 billion, were at the bottom of the table for the one-year period, bettered by equity funds and “other” funds, with US$ 44.5 billion of net outflows and US$ 1.9 billion of net inflows, respectively. The best performing funds for the one-year period were commodity funds at 5.6%, followed by bond funds and mixed-asset funds, with 3.2% and 2.5% returns on average. Real estate funds, at negative 2.0%, bottom-performed, bettered by alternatives funds and money market funds, at negative 1.4% and negative 1.1%, respectively.

Fund Classifications, November

Looking at Lipper’s fund classifications for November, most of the net new money flows went into Money Market USD (+US$ 61.6 billion), followed by Equity US Small & Mid Cap and Equity Sector Financials (+US$ 13.7 billion and +US$ 10.6 billion). The largest net outflows took place for Bond USD Municipal, at negative US$ 9.8 billion, bettered by Bond USD High Yield and Equity Emerging Mkts Global, at negative US$ 7.5 billion and negative US$ 6.9 billion, respectively.

Fund Classifications, Year to Date

Looking at Lipper’s fund classifications for the year to date, most of the net new money flows went into Bond USD Medium Term (+US$ 115.5 billion), followed by Money Market USD and Money Market GBP (+US$ 63.2 billion and +US$ 51.2 billion). The largest net outflows took place for Equity US, at negative US$ 78.2 billion, bettered by Equity Europe and Mixed Asset CNY Flexible, at negative US$ 54.8 billion and negative US$ 49.4 billion, respectively.

Fund Classifications, Last Year

Looking at Lipper’s fund classifications for the one-year period, most of the net new money flows went into Bond USD Medium Term (+US$ 118.8 billion), followed by Money Market USD and Money Market GBP (+US$ 112.6 billion and +US$ 55.0 billion). The largest net outflows took place for Equity US, with a negative US$ 65.1 billion, bettered by Equity Europe and Mixed Asset CNY Flexible, with a negative US$ 50.8 billion and a negative US$ 34.3 billion, respectively.

China’s Wealthy Investors Remain Hungry for High Returns

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China's Wealthy Investors Remain Hungry for High Returns

According to a survey conducted for the recently released The Cerulli Report Asian Wealth Management 2016, about 50% of the survey respondents said they expect an annual return equivalent to the one-year savings deposit rate plus 5%, which translates to a return of about 6.5% to 6.9%.

However, the survey also found that the more investment experience respondents have, the higher their return expectations. Almost 30% of the survey respondents are eyeing an annual return of more than 10%.

Earning high returns over a short period of time is always the ideal scenario for investors. As such, products that have good liquidity in the Chinese market, such as mutual funds, are typically churned regularly as investors seek to make a quick buck. Liquid mutual fund products can show an annual turnover of more than seven times, even fixed-income funds show an annual turnover of two to three times.

The pursuit of higher returns naturally leads to a preference for higher-risk products. More than 70% of the survey respondents said they want to invest in stock and equity products, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), in the next six months. Further, more than 50% of them said that they have been introduced to stocks and equity products.

Cerulli notes that this interest could be related to expectations of an eventual recovery in China’s equity markets after the collapse of A-shares in June last year. But, for now, cash and deposits are still the preferred products due to a shortage of quality assets.

PIMCO: Opportunities in Quality Credit, Specialty Finance and Mortgages

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PIMCO: Opportunities in Quality Credit, Specialty Finance and Mortgages

Compared with about a year ago, when PIMCO increased credit risk, they are taking less overall credit and “spread risk“, and have been shifting their portfolios into areas of the credit market where they see the most favorable risk/reward. This shift, while subtle, underscores their views on credit sectors positioned to withstand the potential changes and uncertainties in the market outlook. Specifically, PIMCO sees opportunities in the following areas in global fixed income credit sectors:

High quality corporate bonds: PIMCO favors industries tied to the U.S. consumer, including cable, telecom, gaming, airlines and lodging, which should remain supported by solid consumer fundamentals, rising confidence and prospective tax cuts. They also continue to like banks and financials, which benefit both from moderately higher interest rates and steeper yield curves as well as the potential for less onerous and costly regulation under Trump. Finally, PIMCO continues to believe mid-stream energy/MLPs/pipelines offer the most attractive risk/reward in the energy sector given higher energy prices and the prospect for a pickup in volume growth in the U.S. shale regions.

Bank capital/specialty finance: They believe select opportunities exist in U.S./UK/European bank capital securities and specialty finance companies where their bottom-up credit research seeks to identify companies with improving fundamentals. “These sectors should benefit from a gradual pickup in nominal GDP, an improvement in earnings growth and rising equity market capitalization. Current bank capital valuations have cheapened relative to high yield, and deregulation should be particularly supportive for specialty finance companies”.

Non-agency mortgages: The risk/reward on non-agency mortgages continues to look attractive given current loss-adjusted spreads and a healthy U.S. housing market, which remains supported by a solid labor market, deleveraged consumer balance sheets and favorable demand/supply.

Agency mortgages: Valuations on high-quality agency mortgages have cheapened considerably over the past few months. They are now increasingly attractive both outright as well as relative to U.S. Treasuries given the recent backup in interest rates.

 

 

 

 

Fidelity International’s Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Obtains First Private Fund Management License In China

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Fidelity International’s Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Obtains First Private Fund Management License In China
Foto: eperales. Fidelity consigue en China la calificación que le permite crear productos para inversores institucionales y altos patrimonios domésticos

Fidelity International announced on Thursday that its wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai has become the first global asset manager to register with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) as a private fund management company.

This qualification allows Fidelity International to create onshore investment products in China for eligible Chinese institutional and high net worth investors for the first time, and is crucial to the firm’s long-term China strategy. Established in September 2015 in Shanghai, Fidelity International’s WFOE, FIL Investment Management (Shanghai) Company Limited, is the first global asset management company to be awarded the qualification.

“This is a significant milestone to facilitate our expansion in the world’s second-largest economy. Thanks to the support from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and AMAC, we are honoured to be the first company to receive this private fund management business qualification,” said Mark Talbot, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Fidelity International. “We have been operating in China since 2004, offering offshore capabilities to domestic institutional clients, and retail investors through partnering with banks under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII1) programme. This latest development expands our capabilities to support Chinese clients’ needs to invest both onshore and offshore.”

“China is crucial to our global growth strategy, and as a privately-owned company, we are able to take a long-term approach to develop the best solutions for our clients to meet their investment and retirement needs,” Mr Talbot added.

Fidelity International has representative offices in Shanghai and Beijing, as well as an operating centre in Dalian, employing a total of over 400 staff in China. Fidelity International has a quota of US$1.2 billion under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII2) scheme, which is one of the largest amounts held by any fund manager globally.  The QFII quota allows Fidelity International to invest in Chinese capital markets.

“We firmly believe a local presence in China is critical not only to understand clients’ needs, but also to actively identify investment opportunities through our global research and investment capabilities,” said Daisy Ho, Managing Director, Asia Pacific ex Japan, Fidelity International. “We are set to offer onshore investors an opportunity to capture the long-term investment opportunities in China through our WFOE private fund management company.”

Assets Under Management in the European ETF industry Up in November

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Assets Under Management in the European ETF industry Up in November

The latest European ETF Market Review from Thomson Reuters Lipper shows that positive market impacts in combination with net inflows led to increased assets under management in the European ETF industry (€496.1 bn) for November, up from €483.8 bn at the end of October.

Detlef Glow, Head of EMEA research at Thomson Reuters Lipper is the author of the report  that also found that:

The increase of €12.3 bn for November was mainly driven by the performance of markets (+€7.5 bn), while net sales contributed €4.8 bn to the assets under management in the ETF segment.

Equity ETFs (+€8.2 bn) posted the highest net inflows for November.

The best selling Lipper global classification for November was Equity US (+€2.6 bn), followed by Equity Global (+€2.0 bn) and Equity Europe (+€1.2 bn).

BNP Paribas, with net sales of €1.4 bn, was the best selling ETF promoter in Europe, followed by Source (+€0.9 bn) and Vanguard Group (+€0.8 bn).

The ten best selling funds gathered total net inflows of €4.2 bn for November.

iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD (Acc) (+€0.7 bn), was the best selling individual ETF for November.

2016 Fund Flows = all about QE

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2016 Fund Flows = all about QE

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Research Team has published the 2016 year end Funds Flow Report. “QE drove fund flows in 2016, but the past two months has been all about reversing this trend. Even though high-grade and EM debt funds have been the main beneficiaries of QE-mania, recent developments have shifted momentum to the negative side.” They find.

Equities have been the biggest loser in 2016, with outflows mounting to $100bn, as investors flocked to QE-eligible assets. HY funds closed the year on negative territory in terms of flows, despite the recent rebound. Commodities were the biggest winner for most of 2016, but rising rates reversed the strong inflow seen over the first part of the year.

Last week of the year…

High grade funds had their first week of inflows after seven weeks of outflows, and the inflows were spread across a wide range of funds. High yield funds continued to see inflows for a fourth week, at a strong $1bn+ rate. The inflows of the last week of the year came across the board. Global, US and European-focused funds in Europe recorded strong inflows.

Government bond funds flows flipped back to positive territory after two weeks of relatively heavy outflows. Money market funds weekly flow data point to a third week of outflows, albeit marginal. Overall, fixed income funds flows flipped back to positive after seven weeks of outflows. European equity funds recorded a marginal outflow last week.