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BNY Mellon President Karen B. Peetz to Retire

BNY Mellon announced that Karen B. Peetz, president, has decided to retire from the company at year end.

Peetz, BNY Mellon’s first female president, joined the company in 1998 and has played a pivotal role through periods of significant change in the organization, including the successful navigation of post-financial crisis challenges and the adoption of a more strategic, market- and solutions-led approach to client relationship management.

Peetz has been consistently recognized for her contributions to the financial services industry and has been named #1 on American Banker’s “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” ranking in recognition of her management style, crisis management skills, influence and charitable endeavors.

“Karen’s leadership, industry expertise and partnership will be missed by BNY Mellon, and we are extremely thankful for her many contributions during her tenure,” said Gerald Hassell, Chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon.

Peetz oversees the company’s global client management and regional management, its treasury services business and its regulatory oversight functions. Prior to her appointment as president in January 2013, she led BNY Mellon’s former Financial Markets and Treasury Services group, comprised of the alternative investment services, broker-dealer and advisor services, corporate trust, depositary receipts and treasury services businesses.

Asian Retail Investors Are Not Ready for Liquid Alternative Products

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There is an emerging trend among distributors of pairing multi-asset strategies, for regular income, with liquid alternatives to achieve additional returns.

For instance, banks are advising liquid alternatives to retail investors, which was once targeted at high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) by certain banks. At a small-to-mid-sized Asian private bank, the advised allocation to liquid alternatives was 20%, while another global/regional bank’s recommendation was 40% for mass affluent clients.

Wealth managers are upbeat on liquid alternative products that are based on long-short or global macro strategies as they believe these strategies can provide investors returns that are uncorrelated to traditional asset classes. Structured products with option strategies as an income-generating idea are also often advised by wealth managers to investors with higher risk appetites.

However, according to a survey conducted for The Cerulli Report – Wealth Management in Asia 2016, retail investors in Asia may not be ready for liquid alternatives just yet.

The survey reveals that the appetite for such products remains low, as investment preference lies in cash and deposits, even as investors wish for 3% to 5% higher returns than their respective country’s one-year deposit rates and cite portfolio diversification as their top priority.

While Asian investors seem to adopt a cautious approach to their investments, Cerulli notes that a lot of convincing needs to be done by asset managers and distributors.

AIMA Announces New Chair and Board of Directors

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The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global representative for alternative asset managers, has announced a new Chairman and the formation of a new AIMA Council, the Association’s global board of directors.

Taking over as AIMA Chair is Simon Lorne, Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer, Millennium Management LLC. He replaces the former SEC Commissioner Kathleen Casey, who served as Chair of AIMA from September 2012 to September 2016.

There are four new additions to the AIMA Council – Robyn Grew, Chief Administrative Officer and GC, Man Group Plc; Han Ming Ho, Partner, Sidley Austin; Ryan Taylor, Partner and Global Head of Compliance, Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP; and Michael Weinberg, Senior Managing Director, Chief Investment Strategist, Protégé Partners.

The Council, who will serve from September 2016 to September 2018, is as follows:

Simon Lorne, Millennium Management LLC (Chair)
Jack Inglis, AIMA
Olwyn Alexander, PwC
Andrew Bastow, AQR Capital Managements (Europe) LLP
Fiona Carpenter, EY
Stuart Fiertz, Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP
Robyn Grew, Man Group Plc
Han Ming Ho, Sidley Austin
Tim O’Brien, Pine River Capital Management LP
Martin Pabari, CQS (UK) LLP
Christopher Pearce, Marshall Wace Asia Ltd
Henry Smith, Maples and Calder
Ryan Taylor, Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP
Philip Tye, HFL Advisors Limited
Karl Wachter, Magnetar Capital LLC
Michael Weinberg, Chief Investment Strategist, Protégé Partners

As well as Casey, Eva Sanchez of Citadel Europe and Choo San Yeoh of Albourne Partners are also stepping down from the Council.

AIMA Chairman Simon Lorne said: “I’m honored to be named as AIMA’s Chair at this important time in our industry’s evolution. I look forward to working with the outstanding firms and individuals who are the global face of our industry as we work together to best serve the interests of our individual and institutional investors around the world.”

AIMA CEO Jack Inglis said: “I am excited to have such a strong board to guide our work at AIMA, and I am very much looking forward to working closely with Simon Lorne, our new Chair, as we address the big issues facing alternative investment fund managers around the world. We are fortunate to welcome to the Council individuals with the skills and experience of Robyn Grew of Man, Ryan Taylor of Brevan Howard, Michael Weinberg of Protégé Partners and Han Ming Ho of Sidley Austin. On behalf of AIMA and all the membership, I also would like to pay tribute to our out-going Chair Kathleen Casey, who served the Association with such distinction these last four years, and Eva Sanchez and Choo San Yeoh, who have made such an important contribution to AIMA and the global industry over a number of years.”

Lombard International Opens New Office in Miami

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Lombard International, a global leader in wealth structuring solutions for the high net worth market, recently announced the opening of its office in Miami, FL, located at 801 Brickell Avenue. The new office will be a hub for Lombard International’s sales team to reach high net worth individuals, families and institutions in Latin America.

“The Miami office serves as a gateway for us to engage with and educate advisors of the Latin American high net worth community,” said Helmer Arizmendy, Senior Managing Director and Latin America Region Head for Lombard International. “With this new expansion, we look forward to raising awareness of our solutions available to help protect and preserve wealth.”

This office opening comes shortly after Lombard International’s expansion into Bermuda with the appointment of Phil Trussell as Senior Managing Director to lead the growth of its life insurance operations in the region. In addition, earlier this year Lombard International opened a representative office in Paris and two brokerage offices in Asia, expanding the firm’s global footprint into other key financial markets.

“As the number of ultra-high net worth individuals and families continues to grow, Latin America is a key market for Lombard International,” said Ken Kilbane, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Distribution at Lombard International. “The opening of this new office further cements our position as a global leader in wealth structuring solutions for the high net worth market.”

In Clinton vs. Trump Race, Bet on Infrastructure

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Yesterday night Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced each other in their first Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The apparent winner was Hillary Clinton. While she calmly and eloquently touched many policy areas in detail, Trump’s lack of preparation had him ranting in a sloppy pattern of interruption after the first half hour, and the markets noticed. For example the Mexican peso – dollar parity went from 19.89 pesos per dollar at the beginning of the debate, to 19.54 towards the end.

Amongst the more memorable quotes are:

From Hillary:

“I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. And, yes, I did. You know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And I think that’s a good thing.”
“Well, Donald, I know you live in your own reality,” Clinton responding to Trump’s trade attack.

From Donald:

That makes me smart,” Trump said in response to Clinton saying he might not pay federal income taxes.
“I was going to say something extremely rough to Hillary, to her family, and I said to myself, ‘I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.’ It’s inappropriate. It’s not nice,’ ” Trump told CNN after the debate.

During the debate they engaged in an occasionally raw series of clashes on topics from trade policy to the Iran deal to Trump’s taxes. It is clear the presidential candidates don’t often see eye to eye, but they both agree that the US needs to fix its crumbling infrastructure. Allianz Global Investors created an infographic that shows how infrastructure spending could pay off for the economy – and how investors could take advantage.

According to Kristina Hooper, US Investment Strategist at Allianz Global Investors “The US presidential election has the potential to negatively affect markets in the short term. Depending on the outcome of the Congressional races, the new president may not be able to see much of his or her platform come to fruition. However, both candidates are likely to increase fiscal spending, which should be positive for the US economy – particularly since it’s unclear how effective monetary policy still is. Investors may want to take a ‘wait-and-see‘ approach to making sector bets – except for infrastructure, which is likely to benefit regardless of who wins in November. Either way, investors should also expect greater volatility as we get closer to the election.”

2016 FOX Fall Forum to Focus on “Strengthening the Partnership”

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Family Office Exchange (FOX), a global membership organization of enterprise families and their key advisors, has unveiled the agenda for its 2016 FOX Fall Forum, which is taking place November 2-4 in Chicago.

This year’s Fall Forum, titled “Strengthening the Partnership”, will highlight issues affecting relationships between family leaders, office executives, and trusted advisors—and offer techniques for building stronger ones.

Highlights of the program include:

Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments and Board Chair for DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., who will join FOX founder and CEO Sara Hamilton in a fireside chat to discuss her patient investment philosophy and the many ways families can collaborate to make the world a better place in the coming decades
Michael Hayden, Retired U.S. Air Force General, Principal with The Chertoff Group and former Director of both the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency, who will explore today’s dynamic geopolitical events and risks with a special focus on worldwide intelligence and cybersecurity
Julia Balandina Jacquier, Founder and Managing Director of JBJ Consult, who will speak about why and how leading families of wealth use impact investing including insights from her new study “Catalyzing Wealth For Change, A Guide to Impact Investing”
Mark Hatch, Author of “The Maker Movement Manifesto”, who will share how advanced manufacturing, crowdfunding, the collaborative economy and online markets are paving the way for individuals to create, innovate, and generate wealth for themselves and their investors.

“FOX Fall Forum is the family wealth industry’s marquee event, with ideas and networking you won’t find anywhere else,” said FOX president Alexandre Monnier. “We are especially excited about this year’s agenda, which features world-class speakers who will cover an array of topics important to our members. If you are a family leader, family office executive, or trusted advisor, you truly won’t want to miss this Forum.”

The Fall Forum agenda features sessions addressing partnerships both inside and outside the family. It will also explore topics such as investing in the post-election environment, designing an owner education curriculum that informs and solidifies partnerships, understanding and addressing the wealth gap, and appreciating the role of family storytelling to support family continuity and vision.

And like at all FOX Forums, attendees will have the opportunity to expand their networks with other enterprise owners and highly-experienced executives at several engaging social events.

You can find out more using this link.

Japan Wheels Out Its Helicopters

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The BoJ sends an invitation to government, a challenge to markets.

The engines aren’t running yet, and the fuel is still on its way. But in last week’s announcements from the Bank of Japan there was the unmistakable sound of helicopters being wheeled out of their hangars.

Wednesday’s central bank doubleheader saw the Federal Reserve deliver the usual mix of hawkish tones and no action that we’ve come to expect, having already been upstaged by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s headline-grabbing innovations.

‘Yield Curve Control’: A Step towards Helicopter Money

Markets had expected a commitment to negative rates combined with a tweak to the bonds purchasing program to steepen Japan’s yield curve. Instead, Kuroda announced a more aggressive commitment to a 2%-plus inflation target and a target for the 10-year yield: Bonds will be purchased to keep the latter “around the current level” of zero percent.

This is a commitment to negative deposit rates: Holding the 10-year yield at zero stops negative short rates from spreading out along the curve, and that upward slope should help banks and insurance companies survive as long as those negative rates are required.

It also doubles down on the QE “portfolio effect.” Should Japan one day succeed in generating growth and inflation, holding the 10-year at zero implies an increasingly negative real yield, and an ever-greater incentive to sell bonds and buy real assets.

But, most importantly, it is the clearest signal yet that the Bank of Japan wants the government of Japan to take on more debt and start spending aggressively. When you reach the outer bounds of what is possible with monetary policy alone, you need a fiscal policy that creates a genuine prospect of inflation, which in turn can provide the fuel for low rates to work through the portfolio rebalancing channel. Only then do the two arms of policy reinforce one another.

Back in July, we saw signs that the Japanese government was ready to contemplate new measures. By committing to buying 10-year bonds at a zero yield no matter what, the Bank of Japan has promised the “helicopter money” to finance those measures.

Some Market Players Will Fight This…

If this is an invitation to the government, it is also a challenge to financial markets. No good can come of such egregious market interventions and distortions, argue some very prominent investors; it’s unsustainable, and a lot of money can be made by those brave enough to try to break the policy. They point to failed interventions and policy targets of the past, from the Fed’s “Operation Twist” in the early 1960s, through various ill-fated currency pegs, to the unravelling of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) after Black Wednesday in September 1992.

They may be right over the long term. Japan must hope it can rediscover modest growth and inflation with these policies before its enormous debt burden collapses the yen under its weight. That may prove impossible.

But would you bet on that failure now, when Japan has time and political commitment on its side? These are powerful forces. People have been shorting Japanese government bonds for 20 years already, and they keep getting carried off the field.

…But It Is Kuroda’s ‘Draghi Moment’

The world is very different than it was in 1992, when the ERM failed. The new era dates from 2012 and ECB President Mario Draghi’s defining pledge to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the integrity of the European single currency, the ERM’s successor. Before these words were uttered, the Greek debt crisis was dragging the euro to the edge of a very sheer cliff—and a lot of investors had been waiting years for the chance to push it over. Big, 100-year-old financial institutions had been shorted out of existence during the financial crisis, they reasoned. Surely it was a small step to do the same for the Eurozone?

They were denied their moment and we all learned the dangers of trying to short political entities out of existence when they have strong leadership and resolve.

If the ECB can hold its own while trying to satisfy 19 disagreeing masters, imagine what the Bank of Japan can do with the full backing of its government. It is already well on the way to buying up the second-biggest bond market in the world. Now its helicopters are out, and markets probably won’t have the ammunition to shoot them down.

Neuberger Berman’s CIO insight by Brad Tank

Despite Global Offshore Financial Market Growth Slowing in 2015, Unrest will Keep Industry Afloat

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While 2015 was a weak year for the global offshore financial market, with growth slowing to 1.6% over the previous year, there are notable differences between offshore centers and their propositions and performances, and wealth managers need to understand these differences to service customers more effectively, according to financial services research and insight firm Verdict Financial.

The company’s latest report found that safe havens, such as the US and Switzerland, are rising in prominence, while more traditional offshore destinations, such as the Bahamas, are experiencing declines in offshore assets.

Heike van den Hoevel, Senior Analyst at Verdict Financial, notes: “Understanding the unique selling points of each offshore center is key to determine not only their performance, but also future prospects, and the reasons why investors will want to invest there.”

For example, the Bahamas, which is mainly known as a tax haven, has struggled in recent years. In light of recent scandals, in particular the Panama Papers, as well as increased media attention on tax evasion, investors and wealth managers are turning away from traditional offshore centers to avoid being tainted by association.

Switzerland, one of the world’s largest safe havens, represents another interesting example. Traditionally known for banking secrecy and numbered accounts, the Alpine state felt the full brunt of the increased pressure on offshore centers after the 2008 crisis, and retail non-resident deposits declined by 24% between 2008 and 2013. However, the tide is turning, and the Swiss government has made efforts to increase transparency and end bank secrecy in recent years, most notably committing to the automatic exchange of tax information as part of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard, which will begin in 2018.

Van den Hoevel continues: “These efforts combined with the country’s safe haven status have seen non-resident deposits return in recent years. Various international developments – including Britain leaving the EU, the coup in Turkey, continuous unrest in the Middle East, slowing economic growth in China, and uncertainties surrounding Russia’s geopolitical ambitions – have all contributed to funds flowing back into Switzerland as investors seek a safe haven for their money.”

The Japanese Equity Market Remains Attractive

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On Wednesday both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan decided upon leaving interest rates on hold. However, the BOJ shifted the focus of its monetary stimulus from expanding the money supply to controlling interest rates. Its policy announcement had two main parts. First, it committed itself to continue expanding the monetary base until the inflation rate “exceeds the price stability target of 2 percent and stays above the target in a stable manner.” Second, it will start targeting the yield on ten-year Japanese government debt (JGBs), while continuing to buy about 80 trillion yen in JGBs annually.

A decision that former Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, found puzzling given the curent policy looks to both setting a price and buying a given amount at any price but he believes “that the BOJ was concerned that dropping the quantity target would lead market participants to infer (incorrectly) that the Bank was scaling back its program of monetary easing. Over time, assuming that the BOJ does adhere to its new rate peg, the redundant quantity target is likely to become softer and to recede in importance. The BOJ’s communication will accordingly begin to emphasize the yield on JGBs, rather than the quantity of bonds in the BOJ’s portfolio, as the better indicator of the degree of monetary policy ease.”

According to Tomoya Masanao, Head of Portfolio Management Japan at PIMCO, “the decision is in part a reflection of the BOJ’s recognition that base money expansion itself has little easing effect and that Japan’s neutral yield curve, which is neither expansionary nor contractionary for the economy, is steeper than the bank would have thought. The actual yield curve should not be too flat relative to the neutral curve otherwise the economy will be negatively affected through weakening of financial intermediation.”

Paul Brain, Head of Fixed Income at Newton Investment Management commented: “This is no bazooka from the BoJ but it’s an interesting approach nonetheless. Targeting long term rates as well as short rates reminds us of the period in the 1940s and 1950s when the US fixed 10 year government borrowing rates. It opens the door for more government spending finance at very low rates without further undermining the banking system.” While Miyuki Kashima, Head of Japanese Equity Investments, BNY Mellon Asset Management Japan said he believes the mid to longer-term prospects for the Japanese equity market remain attractive “as the domestic economy is at a rare transitional phase, moving from a period of contraction to one of expansion. The market sell-off this year has been largely due to external factors, and while Japan will be affected by any global slowdown for a period, the country has a large domestic base and can weather such turbulence much better than most economies. Contrary to Japan’s image as export dependent, reliance in terms of GDP is only about 15%, much smaller than most countries in Asia or Europe. The lower oil price is positive for corporate profits overall.’

Wine Investments to Benefit From Brexit

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A survey of over 100 UK IFAs and wealth managers has found that over a quarter expect the demand for investments in wine to grow over the coming 12 months as investors look for more real assets and diversification in the wake of the decision of UK voters to leave the EU.

According to Cult Wines, a specialist in the acquisition and investment management of fine wines, the research into the views of 101 UK intermediaries in July this year found that 27% expect Brexit to drive investments in this area.

Industry benchmark the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index gained 3.6% in June alone in the wake of the Brexit vote. This was the largest positive monthly movement since November 2010, and the index’ monthly closing level of 269.07 was the highest since August 2013.

In the week after the Brexit vote, Cult Wines says its trade sales rose 106%. The trend of strong sales has continued since then, the company says, as US and Asian investors have benefitted from weaker sterling against the dollar and the Hong Kong dollar.

The diversification element of invesing in a real asset such as wine is cited by about half, 48% of those intermediaries who see increasing investments in fine wine. Some 42% cited “attractive medium to long term returns”. The compounded annual return on investable wines since 1988 has averaged 10.65%, Cult Wines says.

Intermediaries also noted that awareness of wine as an invesable area has been rising among high net worth retail investors – as it has for alternative physical investments generally.

Cult Wines estimates the fine wines sector to be worth over $4bn annually, adding that “fine wines tend to perform well when the pound is weaker and boasts a number of defensive characteristics. Holdings in wine are not normally linked to other asset prices, with the long term correlation between wine prices and the FTSE 100 at just 0.04.”

Tom Gearing, managing director at Cult Wines, said: “An allocation towards fine wine provides investors with a number of guarding characteristics, and has the advantage of not necessarily following the general trend of lagging behind the rest of the market during economic expansion because demand is consistently strong. Real assets remain an attractive option as they tend to change in value independently of the core financial markets.”

Globally, sales of fine wines to investors continue to grow. Cult Wines opened an office in Hong Kong earlier in 2016; the market estimates that half of Bordeaux’s fine wines went to Asia last year, while its share of the Bordeaux export market has more than doubled over the past decade. Cult Wines’ own sales to Hong Kong in the first half of 2016 were £1.6m, and it expects annuals sales over £5m. Compound annual growth experienced in the region in the past four years has been 235%, and it expects annuals sales of £20m by 2020.