Schroders was awarded the coveted ‘Best International Fund Group’ award at The Incisive Media International Fund & Product Awards 2015 held in London on October 7th. The award recognises Schroders for the excellence of its digital strategy and strength of its product proposition, as well as outstanding fund performance over three years.
In a highly competitive category, Schroders scooped first place above other well-known players in international asset management, which included the likes of GAM, BlackRock, Fidelity and more.
Additionally, Schroders’ Chief Executive, Michael Dobson, has been awarded the 2015 ‘Financial News Decade of Excellence’award, which recognises his leadership in the strong growth of Schroders’ profits and assets under management since 2001.
Of the award, Carla Bergareche, Head at Schroders Spain and Portugal commented “We have a strong local distribution presence around the globe and in all the major global financial centres, stretching back over 50 years. Through this we have nurtured long-standing relationships with our clients, maintaining an open dialogue based on professionalism and trust.” Adding that “We believe that digital is a key area of development to enhance our approach to servicing, engaging and communicating with our clients. We have put this into effect via the recent launch of the Schroders incomeIQ initiative, a knowledge centre which features investment guides and tools. People can also take the incomeIQ test designed to reveal investors’ behavioural biases and provide useful tips to empower advisers and investors in their decision making. We are pleased to have won the awards in recognition of our drive for excellence in delivering added value to our clients and wider society. We will continue to innovate across all aspects of our business to help meet the needs of our clients.”
You can review the list of winners and Finalist in the following link
Bob Thomas - Foto cedida. Henderson Global Investors amplía su equipo de renta variable inmobiliaria global
Following an announcement made to clients in May this year, Henderson Global Investors has further expanded its global property equities team with the addition of a dedicated North American property equities team.
Bob Thomas was appointed head of North American property equities, joining the global asset manager in August. Bob is based in Henderson’s Chicago office. His previous role was co-head of North American listed real estate at AMP Capital. Bob brings over 13 years’ experience in real estate securities, having previously worked for BNP Paribas Asset Management and Nuveen Asset Management.
Greg Kuhl has also joined the team in Chicago as portfolio manager and will work with Bob to build out the offering. He joins from Brookfield Investment Management where he worked on North American and global long only and long-short real estate funds. Finally, this month, Mike Engels joined as an analyst. He previously worked at Brookfield Investment Management.
Bob, Greg and Mike, will work with existing global fund managers, Guy Barnard and Tim Gibson, to manage the team’s existing global mandates. This transition will take place on the 1 November. As a result of this decision, management of the North American sleeves of Henderson’s global property equities funds will be brought in-house. Since 2007, Harrison Street Securities, the US-based real estate investment firm, was mandated to manage this part of the portfolio.
Graham Kitchen, head of equities at Henderson, comments: “As a truly global business, and with recent acquisitions in the US developing our in-house equity expertise, it is a logical step to bring the management of North American property equities in-house. Not only do we believe this best serves clients in the existing global funds, but it also enables us to further develop the franchise and product offering in the future.”
Guy Barnard, co-head of global property equities based in London, says: “We’ve worked with Harrison Street for eight years and thank them for the service they have provided. Looking ahead, a strengthened property securities team, with dedicated portfolio managers in all of our key regions, will enable us to pursue a more integrated global investment process that will best serve our clients’ needs. The integration process has been carefully managed over a number of months, meaning we expect a seamless transition next month.
The build-out of the global property equities team reflects Henderson’s drive to provide quality products with consistent superior performance to our clients across the world.”
Tim Gibson, co-head of global property equities based in Singapore, adds: “Hiring quality people to help develop our global offering is intrinsic to our success, and we are happy to be in a position to attract high caliber managers such as Bob and Greg. They both have strong reputations, excellent track records and high conviction, bottom-up driven investment processes that are aligned to our own. ”
Foto: Context, the AB Blog on Investing. Riesgo de Liquidez: lo que los gestores de renta fija no están entendiendo
Remember the story of the blind men and the elephant? One man grabs the tail; another, the trunk; another, a tusk—yet nobody knows what the animal looks like. Liquidity risk is like that elephant. It’s easy to misunderstand—and mismanage.
Managers who don’t understand all the moving parts or who take a piecemeal approach to managing the liquidity risk in their clients’ portfolios are playing a potentially dangerous game.
So what do we mean about not seeing the big picture? Here are just a few examples.
Focus on Traders, Not Trading
Some asset managers see the decline in bond market liquidity, first and foremost, as a regulatory issue. In other words, they attribute it to new rules that require banks to hold more capital and limit their ability to trade for their own profit.
No doubt, these changes have reduced market liquidity, though they’re not the only force at work. Even so, many asset managers say they can cope by deepening their pool of potential trading partners. This means using smaller brokers to complement the stable of more traditional liquidity providers, such as banks and primary dealers.
There’s nothing wrong with that approach—but it doesn’t go far enough. In our view, the best thing firms can do when it comes to sourcing liquidity is bolster their own trading ranks.
With banks playing a smaller role in the bond-trading business, it’s more important than ever to have skilled traders with the expertise to find liquidity when it’s scarce and take advantage of the opportunities it can offer. In the past, traders at buy-side firms tended to simply execute orders. That approach won’t work anymore.
Over time, more electronic, “all-to-all” trading platforms that can match large orders among a bigger pool of buyers and sellers may help address these issues. But in-house trading expertise is critical.
Cash: Opportunity Cost or Opportunity?
Asset managers recognize the wisdom of keeping cash on hand in a low-liquidity environment. But too many view it simply as a way to meet redemptions should large numbers of investors suddenly want their money back.
Being able to meet redemption is important, of course. But focusing only on this overlooks another benefit that cash confers: the ability to act quickly to take advantage of liquidity-driven dislocations. When liquidity dried up during the “taper tantrum” in 2013, investors who avoided crowded trades and kept some cash on hand were able to swoop in and buy assets at attractive prices. Think of it as compensation for providing liquidity when so many others needed it.
Of course, with interest rates as low as they are, there’s an opportunity cost associated with cash. But there’s a way to partly offset that performance drag: use relatively more liquid derivatives to get exposure to “synthetic” securities.
We can see why this approach may seem attractive at first blush. But the number of investors using these strategies has exploded in recent years. That means a lot of people are doing the same thing at the same time. Asset managers who see these strategies as a panacea may not realize that they can make a liquidity crunch worse.
Why? Because when volatility rises, managers who use VaR-based strategies generally have to sell assets to bring their portfolios’ risk back in line. That can be bad for individual returns (you’re selling when prices are falling) and for broader market liquidity (you’re selling when everyone else is, too).
It’s always useful to keep an eye on volatility when managing risk. But a better approach, in our view, is one that allows investors to buy assets when they cheapen and sell them when they get expensive. This can only be done by lengthening one’s investment time horizon.
During times of high volatility and low liquidity, this may mean sitting tight, turning a blind eye to price declines and waiting for the storm to end. But in the long run, we think this approach is more likely to lead to better investment returns.
Seeing the Big Picture
Navigating today’s bond market requires a thorough understanding of liquidity dynamics—both the risks and the potential opportunities. We think managers who are just feeling around in the dark—like one of the proverbial blind men examining the elephant—may struggle to keep their clients’ portfolios afloat.
The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams.
Opinion column by Douglas J. Peebles, Chief Investment Officer and Head—AllianceBernstein Fixed Income, and Ashish Shah, Head – Global Credit.
Foto por A Guy Taking Pictures
. Mantenerse invertido en un mercado volátil requiere tener la cabeza firme y una estrategia clara
In a global environment of financial and geopolitical crises, divergent economic growth and a dichotomy of monetary policies among developed markets, volatility has dominated the investment dialogue and many professionals agree that it is here to stay.
In your search for positive returns you should remember to keep a steady head and a clear strategy—including a diversified range of investment opportunities—to help navigate the current market volatility.
Firstly, do not let fear and emotions decide your investment strategy. Unfortunately, after many years of low volatility, making sense of the current environment without giving free range to your emotions can prove challenging. Above all, you need to always remember that you are invested for the long run. You should maintain this long-term perspective, and avoid turning over your positions too often with the market’s ups and downs. “Timing the market” and trying to sell stocks when you think the market is about to decline, and buy when you think it is about to rise, is difficult to do successfully with consistency and can be quite risky for your portfolio. For example, if you had invested $100,000 in the S&P 500 Index between January 1st, 1995, and December 31st, 2014 your initial investment would have grown to $654,055. However, missing just the FIVE best days would have cost you over $200,000,
Also important to note is that diversification has changed. Having a bond and stock portfolio is no longer sufficient to ensure effective diversification and consistent returns. Given current market conditions, if you want to protect your investments and/or take advantage of all the potential opportunities in the market, you need to cast a wider net across variety of assets, including active, index and multi-asset strategies as well as nontraditional investments. While nothing can guarantee consistent outperformance, enhanced diversification does expand your sources of risk and return.
To increase your portfolio’s chances of success, considering the following actions:
Build a better bond portfolio – Analyze why it is you want exposure to bonds, and look for the best fixed-income tools for your particular case. For example, an unconstrained bond strategy and the flexibility it gives you, might be useful in navigating interest rate risks.
Increase global exposure – The same techniques for diversifying via sector and asset classes, can be applied to geography. International exposure, to the right markets, can offer better returns than just investing in your domestic market.
Look for dividend paying stocks – This strategy can help provide much-needed downside protection in difficult environments while participating in up markets. Although there is no guarantee that companies will continue to pay dividends, this income can help smooth volatility in unpredictable markets.
Expand to other asset classes– By creating a more diverse and flexible portfolio you start to take advantage of all the financial markets have to offer. This may require seeking opportunity in places you have never looked before such as Real Estate or Long-short funds. It also warrants the use of a wider variety of active, index and multi-asset strategies.
In today’s environment of low growth it is important to use all tools, from the precision exposures allowed by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the unbridled reach and flexibility afforded by unconstrained active strategies, to achieve your investment goals.
This material is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice nor an offer or solicitation to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of any Fund (nor shall any such shares be offered or sold to any person) in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities law of that jurisdiction. If any funds are mentioned or inferred to in this material, it is possible that some or all of the funds have not been registered with the securities regulator in any Latin American and Iberian country and thus might not be publicly offered within any such country. The securities regulators of such countries have not confirmed the accuracy of any information contained herein.
WE Family Offices, "Mejor firma de Wealth Management" de Florida y de Nueva York- Foto cedida. Doble galardón para WE Family Offices: "Mejor firma de Wealth Management" de Florida y de Nueva York
WE Family Offices has been awarded with the “Best Family Wealth Management Firm” awards both in Floridaand in New York by the Wealth & Finance International 2015 Finance Awards.
After months of voting, research and hard choices, the publication has finally decided on the worthy winners of this year’s awards, celebrating the service, skill and dedication of individuals and firms across a multitude of financial disciplines and sizes; from local to national players, from single-office firms to international juggernauts, the firm celebrates them all.
The 2015 Finance Awards were developed to recognise and reward excellence, best practice and innovation in finance, and were open to individuals and firms operating and working in a wide range of industries, including personal finance, corporate finance, accountancy and financial management, reaching out to thefour corners of the globe.
“To be named a Finance Award winner is no mean feat: it is not only a “stamp” of professional excellence, it is also a badge of merit, integrity and leadership”, Wealth & Finance International said in its announcement.
According to Fabio Mostacci, Senior analyst at Mirabaud Securities Spain, the Spanish financial sector will present weak revenues and a lower net income on a qoq basis. “We expect that this upcoming quarter will not deviate meaningfully from the general trends seen during previous quarters. In general terms, we expect good asset quality trends to be partially offset by declining NII due to weak volumes, continued pressure on loan pricing and declining contributions from the ALCO portfolios. In other words, we anticipate that the market perception of a lack of core revenue growth will be confirmed.”
Although they are expecting that deposit repricing will fuel growth in net income, analysts at Mirabaud, anticipate “a sequential decline for all of the banks we cover. This is mainly due to lower contribution from ALCO portfolios following the decision of most of the banks to sell part of the exposure and crystallize capital gains in Q2, and/or to swap part of the portfolios to reduce duration risk.”
They predict that commissions should confirm the positive trend on a year – on – year basis, but sequential growth should be negative due to seasonality and to the weak market performance throughout the summer, which negatively affected asset management commissions. “As for other revenues, we expect trading income to substantially decline towards normalized quarterly run rates following exceptionally high levels over the last few quarters.”
Mirabaud also anticipates asset quality to keep improving on the back of the supportive macro backdrop and pick up of real estate prices. Given that in 1S15 many banks frontloaded a sizable part of their expected provisioning effort for the year, Mirabaud expects that the sequential decline of provisions should be meaningful.
Spanish banks will present their results according to the following list:
To be sure, we could have said almost the same thing in 2012 or 2009 (aside from the “securities” part). However, for investors who can’t hold “bricks and mortar” in a portfolio, or who prefer the liquidity of listed exposure, that suggestion would have been essentially useless. Today, after major advances in Europe’s listed real estate market, things are very different. For the first time, having a genuinely global listed real estate portfolio—as opposed to a U.S. and/or U.K. one with a “global” label on it—is a realistic prospect.
Let’s be clear: We continue to believe there are compelling opportunities in the North American REIT market, which has a dividend yield of 4.1% (as of August 31, 2015). In our view, select areas in Asia look attractive, too. And within Europe, currently we would also caution against being underweight the U.K., where real estate fundamentals remain strong, and where we are seeing a number of quality companies (with mixed-use assets in iconic locations and demonstrated management strategies) that we believe are attractive for listed real estate portfolios throughout an economic cycle.
Nonetheless, we believe the U.K. real estate cycle as a whole should moderate in mid-2016, with the listed market’s prices anticipating this trend some months before, despite continued rental growth. In contrast, Continental European valuations have a lot of catching up to do and, in contrast to the U.S. and the U.K., seem unlikely at this stage to see any headwinds from imminent monetary policy tightening. While the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT U.K. Index provided a dividend yield of just 2.6% at the end of August, the Developed Europe ex-U.K. Index yielded 3.4%.
What makes this especially noteworthy, however, is the nature of the opportunity in this cycle compared with previous ones.
A World Transformed
One reason I joined Neuberger Berman as a manager of European listed real estate was that I was so excited about the growth I was seeing in those markets.
At my previous shop, I worked alongside colleagues investing in bricks and mortar, and in 2012 it was an exquisite frustration to hear them rhapsodize about the low valuations in Dublin and Madrid offices—where we on the listed side had no companies to invest in.
Of course, there was plenty to do in the U.K., and Unibail Rodamco in France is one of the largest pan-European real estate investors. But apart from that, Europe as a whole was a bit of a non-starter.
That world is almost unrecognizable now. The value opportunity in Continental European bricks and mortar three or four years ago led to demand for more listed opportunities, which in turn spurred a wave of IPOs.
Since 2013, there have been 45 European real estate company IPOs, worth a total of more than €13 billion. Twenty-eight of those, representing an IPO value of €10 billion, were Continental European listings. Of the 16 €300 million-plus IPOs over that time, seven were seen in Spain and Ireland, including Merlin Properties, which now owns more than 900 commercial real estate assets on the Iberian peninsula, worth €3.4 billion.
The effect of these listings can be seen by looking at the EMEA ex-U.K. constituents from the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index. As of the end of August, they account for 11% of that index and their market capitalization has doubled since the beginning of 2012, from €69.3 billion to €141.5 billion. Moreover, the regional composition of this group has changed markedly: France, which had been 45%, is just 23%; Germany has gone from 10% to 22%; the Netherlands has gone from 9% to 19%; Spain is up from less than 1% to 4%; and Ireland, which was not part of the Developed Index at all until March this year, represents 0.7% and almost €1 billion of market cap.
We don’t anticipate that 2016 will be a value opportunity like 2009 or 2012. Most of the low-hanging fruit had already been picked before this wave of new IPOs. Nonetheless, Ireland and Spain are still very interesting to us, and the cycle for Continental European commercial real estate has lagged the U.S. and U.K. cycles significantly. For the first time, listed real estate investors can position themselves for the evolution in these cycles—and we believe they may want to consider doing so soon.
Opinion by Gillian Tiltman | Portfolio Manager, U.K. and Continental European Real Estate – Real Estate Securities Group –Neuberger Berman
Foto: Randy Heinitz
. Cantor & Webb trabajará con Markit ǀ CTI Tax Solutions para ampliar servicios relacionados con FATCA o CRS
Cantor Webb will work with Markit | CTI Tax Solutions to expand its offerings related to the classification and compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) and the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”). This will enable broader representation forexisting as well as new clients who need to comply with unprecedented levels of regulatory initiatives, which are designed to promote tax transparency.
Markit | CTI Tax Solutionshas participated in numerous committees and working groups including the IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (“ETAAC”), the IRS Information Reporting Public Advisory Committee (“IRPAC”), the OECD CRS Working Group, and the HMRC FATCA Working Group. Through its products and services, it provides customers with the tools they need to comply with evolving regulatory requirements.
“Now, more than ever, clients need experienced advisors with a practical, global focus designed to assist them in successfully navigating these complexities”, said Cantor & Webb, an international tax and estate planning law firm focused on the representation of high net worth international private clients.
Foto: Juan Cristobal Zulueta
. El aeropuerto de Miami amplía el número de vuelos directos a Europa
Miami International Airport (MIA) will welcome an impressive slate of new and expanded service offerings to key European destinations beginning in winter 2015. The upcoming additions are led by all-new scheduled service to Vienna, Austria and Istanbul, Turkey aboard Four-Star carriers Austrian Airlines and Turkish Airlines. Also on tap for travelers flying to and from Miami are: expanded seasonal flights to Munich aboard Lufthansa; expanded seasonal flights to Helsinki aboard Finnair; all-new Airbus A380 superjumbo service to London; and much more.
The new transatlantic air service options reflect MIA’s strategic efforts to expand its route map beyond traditional stronghold markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. Turkish Airlines’ new Miami-Istanbul service, in particular, gives Miami passengers incredible one-stop access to destinations throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, including Israel. MIA passengers will also enjoy direct access to four cities in Germany when Air Berlin adds scheduled service to their namesake home city in November.
Full details on MIA’s upcoming European service additions are as follows:
October 16: Austrian Airlines Miami-Vienna service inaugural (five weekly)
October 25: Turkish Airlines Miami-Istanbul service inaugural (daily)
October 25: British Airways Miami-London A380 superjumbo service inaugural (daily)
October 25: Lufthansa expanded seasonal Miami-Munich service (six weekly through March 26)
October 25: Air France expanded seasonal A380 superjumbo service to Paris (daily through March 25 when Boeing 777 service resumes)
October 25: Swiss adds four additional weekly frequencies to their year-round daily Miami-Zurich flights (11 total per week) through November 30, when three more weekly flights (14 total per week/2 daily) will be added through May 25
October 26: Finnair expanded seasonal Miami-Helsinki service begins (three weekly through March 26)
November 5: Air Berlin scheduled Berlin service begins (two weekly)
“Beginning this winter, MIA will proudly offer our customers more travel choices to Europe than ever before,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “Whether it’s new destinations, new aircraft, expanded seasonal service or additional flights, Miami travelers – and our community as a whole –stand to benefit from these service upgrades.”
Additional air service to Europe is also on tap for 2016. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) announced last month that it will offer scheduled nonstop service from Miami to Oslo and Copenhagen beginning next fall. MIA currently offers direct flights to 14 cities in Europe, a number that will surge to 19 by early November.
Foto: James Kim
. Asia amenaza la hegemonía norteamericana como región más activa en operaciones de venture capital
Venture capital deals in Asia comprised 38% of the global number, and 45% of global deal value in the quarter, while North America represented 44% of both global number and value.
The venture capital industry in Asia has seen strong growth over the past year, and in Q3 the aggregate value of deals was comparable to the total value of deals in North America. India and China, the largest part of the Asian industry, marked 709 financings in the quarter, worth a combined $16.9bn.
There were 932 venture capital deals in North America in the same period, worth an aggregate $17.5bn. Asia’s share of global deal flow has increased by seven percentage points from Q2 to Q3 2015, and its share of deal value has increased by nine percentage points. At the same time, the North American market share of the number of deals dropped by six percentage points from Q2, while the aggregate value that the region contributed to the global total fell by nine percentage points from 53% inQ2 to 44% in Q3.
Globally, there were 2,121venture capital financings in Q3 2015, worth a combined $39.8bn. Although this marks a 9% drop in deal numbers from Q3 2014, the aggregate value is 88% higher than the same period last year.
Europe is declining and China increasing the value of deals. Europe witnessed 297 deals in Q3, a 7% drop from last quarter. In 2015 YTD, 980 deals have been seen in the region, a 25% decrease from the 1,307 deals in the first three quarters of 2014. On its side, in Q3 2015, the aggregate value of deals in Greater China increased 88% from Q1. In that quarter, there were 252 deals worth a combined $6.9bn, while in Q3 there were 437 deals, worth $13bn.
Other findings show that angel and seed investments comprised 22% of venture capital deals in Q3, unchanged from Q2. Series A deals comprised 20% of the number of deals, and series B comprised 10%. Add-on deals decreased from 8% of the number of deals in Q2 to 5% in Q3.
The mean value of venture capital deals has increased across all financing stages from 2014 to 2015 YTD. Average series A deal value has increased 35%, from $7.9mn in 2014 to $10.7mn for 2015 YTD. Average venture debt deal size was stable in 2013 and 2014, at $9.7mnand $9.6mn respectively, but has now increased to $40.9mn in 2015 YTD.
The two largest investments in Q3 2015 were both in Chinese transport technology firm Didi Kuaidi.The company received $2bn in July, and a further $1bn in September, from a consortium of investors including Alibaba and CIC. The next largest financing was $1bn to Uber Technologies Inc., from Microsoft and Times Internet. Nine of the ten biggest venture capital deals in Q3 were based in Asia.
The unspent capital available to venture capital firms currently stands at $143bn globally, up slightly from the $141bn in dry powder recorded at the end of last quarter.
“The venture capital industry is developing in two different directions between emerging and mature markets. In emerging markets, particularly in Asia, rapidly developing economies like China and India are providing increasing numbers of opportunities for investors and fund managers. While average deal size is increasing slightly, the key driver of growth is the increasing number of deals.
In the more mature markets of North America and Europe, deal numbers have fallen, and the total number of deals in 2015 so far is a quarter lower than in the first three quarters of 2014. However, average deal sizes are still rising in these regions, especially for later stage and debt financings, and now stand at record levels. Declared Christopher Elvin, Head of Private Equity Products–Preqin.
