Foto: Geraint Rowland. Toronto, Nueva York, Islas Vírgenes Británicas y Sao Paulo: los mayores centros financieros de Las Américas
According to the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) published this week by Z/Yen Group,New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore are the four leading global financial centers in the world. All four centers gained points and retain their relative ranks. New York remains the top centre and Tokyo is in fifth place.
Four of the top five North American centers were up in the ratings. San Francisco is slightly down, losing some of the ‘fintech’ gains made in the previous edition. Chicago, Boston, and Toronto all showed small improvements in the ratings.
Caribbean islands are well ahead of Latin American mainlands. The top ‘island’ centers all rose but the Latin American centers of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City fell.
Western European centers are a mixed bunch. The top five European centers are in the same rank order as in the last report London, Zurich, Geneva, Luxembourg, and Frankfurt. Dublin sees the largest increase in ratings. The Channel Islands regain ground lost and Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, and Reykjavik languish as the Eurozone crisis continues.
Eastern European and Central Asian centers decline. Istanbul, Almaty, Prague and Warsaw all saw their ratings decline. Uncertainty in Ukraine has undoubtedly cast a shadow over this region.
Eleven of the top twelve Asia/Pacific centers see a rise in their ratings and rankings. Busan had the largest rise, followed by Shenzhen and Taipei. The Chinese centers all rose. Dalian, a new addition to the index, entered in 51st place.
Middle East and Africa centers fluctuate. Riyadh, Doha, and Bahrain rose in the ratings while Dubai and Abu Dhabi saw modest declines. Africa is ‘hot’ to perhaps ‘overheated’. Johannesburg moved up six places to 32nd. Casablanca moved up nine places to 42nd.
The index rates 82 financial centers and is sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority.
Foto: Martin Abegglen. UBS Wealth Americas promociona a Todd Locicero y Ron Meraz a directores regionales
Todd Locicero and Ron Meraz have been promoted to regional directors at UBS Wealth Management Americas, where they previously were complex directors, publishes reuters.
Locicero, who joined UBS from Morgan Stanley in 2010 to run its private wealth business for wealthy individuals in Los Angeles, is relocating to New York City to become Metro regional director. While director of a “complex” in Los Angeles, he increased in a 100% the size of the business. Locicero reported directly to Chandler, eastern U.S. wealth management head, when he first joined UBS.
Meraz, who has been named southwestern regional director, was complex director of Orange County since 2008. He joined UBS from Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, where he ran Merrill’s office of diversity and also worked as a broker and complex director.
Foto: Youtube.com. Paulo Maia designado CEO de HSBC para América Latina
Paulo Maia has been appointed CEO, HSBC Latin America effective July 1, 2015.
An international executive, Mr. Maia joined HSBC in 1993 and has held executive positions in each of the bank’s main business lines: Commercial Banking; Global Banking and Markets; and Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Mr. Maia has worked in Brazil, Great Britain, the United States and Australia. He was appointed Executive Director of HSBC Bank Brazil in 2000 and Deputy Chief Executive Officer in Brazil in 2008. He was most recently Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Australia before his appointment on January 7, 2013 as President and Chief Executive Officer for HSBC Bank Canada based in Vancouver. On August 12, 2013 Mr. Maia was appointed Group General Manager of HSBC Holdings plc. For 11 years prior to joining HSBC, he held positions in corporate finance and corporate banking in New York, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Sandra Stuart, who joined HSBC in 1980, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bank Canada, succeding Maia.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Mark B Schlemmer. Bank Loans Are the Tortoise, Not the Hare
The global financial crisis did not change the nature of bank loans.
Bank loans were specifically designed by bankers to resist the forces that drive volatility in most other asset classes. Bankers designed bank loans to reduce the volatility that comes along with changes in interest rates and company values, so they insisted that loans have floating coupons and that they be senior and secured.
History shows they did a very good job. 2008 was the only year since loan indices began when loans had a negative return. The 2008’s performance was not driven by credit quality but by a global leverage unwind that created many forced sellers and far fewer buyers in a very short period.
When the selling and rebound were finished, loans resumed their historically typical role: to be the tortoise rather than the hare.
Cheryl Stober is a vice president and a product manager for the bank loan team at Loomis, Sayles & Company, a subsidiary of Natixis Global AM
Foto: Júlio Boaro. El Foro de Fondos de Pensiones Brasil 2015 reunirá a los principales protagonistas del sector brasileño e internacional
The Pension Fund Brazil Forum, that will take place in Sao Paulo on the 13th of May organized by Markets Group, is a specialized gathering for Brazilian and international pension funds to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities faced by the key players in Latin America’s largest pension fund community.
The Forum was designed in collaboration with leading Brazilian pension fund decision makers to support the Brazilian pension funds who are confronted with falling local interest rates, the threat of inflation at home and rapidly increasing liabilities tied to an increasingly robust but aging middle class. It is an opportunity for Brazilian pension funds, asset managers and industry experts to work together toward solutions in Brazilian pension fund portfolio construction, Brazilian pension fund asset allocation and investment strategy, as well as to develop innovative strategies for liability and lifecycle modeling for Brazilian pension funds.
Closing Keynote speaker will be Henrique de Campos Meirelles, Former President of the Central Bank of Brazil, who will be preceded by Cecília Mendes Garcez Siqueira, PREVI;Maurício Marcellini, Funcef; Gabriel Amado de Moura, Fundação Itaubanco; Jorge Simino, Fundação Cesp; Antonio J. Carvalho, PREVI; Ana Nolte, Valia; Fábio Mazzeo, METRUS – Instituto de Seguridade Social; Carlos Kawall, Banco J Safra; Arlete Nese, Banesprev; Reinaldo Soares de Camargo, Funcef; Flavio Pacheco Moreira, Petros; Edner Castilho, Fundação Cesp; Nairam Félix de Barros, AGROS; Adilson Ferrarezi, HSBC Fundo de Pensão; Giuliano Lorenzoni, FAPES and Luiz Mário Farias, Towers Watson.
Key discussion topics include:
Best Practices in Asset-Liability Management: Developed and Emerging Market Pension Fund Perspectives
Investment Strategies for Long Term Asset Preservation and Growth
Fiduciary Excellence: Evolving Responsibilities in Global and Emerging Markets
Trends and Macroeconomic Prospects in Brazilian and Global Economies
Accessing Alternative Investments & the Future of International Asset Allocation
Pension System’s Lifecycle and Educational Programs for Contributors
Current Brazilian Pension Fund Regulation, New Legislation & Considerations in Fundraising & Capital Allocation
For additional information on program or registration, please visit link
Ian Headon, responsable de Servicios Técnicos y de Regulación de Depositaría en Northern Trust, dice que la regulación es una maratón, no un sprint. . Los inversores demandan cada vez más productos acordes con la nueva regulación
More than a quarter (28 percent) of fund managers and consultants surveyed at a Northern Trust seminar on regulation said they believed investors in funds are now demanding products fully compliant with new regulations.
“Investment managers launching new products are now seeing an increasing demand from investors for a combination of traditional offshore and fully regulated products,” said Ian Headon, head of Depositary Regulatory and Technical Services at Northern Trust. “This is a gradual, incremental change in investor behavior and will have a significant impact on the evolution of fund managers’ product offerings – regulation is here to stay, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
However, whilst the survey demonstrated an increased demand for compliant products, the majority of respondents (65 percent) still believed their investors viewed the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive (AIFMD) as primarily a compliance exercise, despite the fact that AIFMD implementation is almost complete.
“The regulatory landscape continues to evolve and as AIFMD implementation nears completion, the industry is faced with a new wave of regulation,” said Robert Angel, head of Regulatory Services for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Northern Trust. “The successful managers will be the ones that break away from the pack and get ahead of the regulatory trends. We provide our clients with regular insights on the latest industry developments and the opportunities that regulation creates, helping to ensure clients can remain ahead of the curve.”
Northern Trust’s Global Fund Services business provides custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, and ETF solutions to investment managers across the globe and across the spectrum of asset classes. Northern Trust offers depositary services in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Guernsey.
Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has raised $2.5 billion for its first international energy fund, the largest first-time fund in the firm’s history. Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP) began raising capital in mid-2013 and has attracted 160 investors. Carlyle now has over $10 billion of capital ready to deploy across its global energy platform.
Carlyle Chairman Daniel A. D’Aniello said, “This has been a remarkable fund raise, the largest first-time fund in our 28-year history. We are grateful for the support of our investors who share our excitement at the current investment opportunities across the international oil and gas sector. The vision and experience of Marcel van Poecke, who leads our international energy team, made this possible. Marcel, alongside Ken Hersh, David Albert, Rahul Culas, Bob Mancini and Matt O’Connor, who led our other energy strategies, form what we believe is the most talented and experienced energy investing platform in the world.”
Mr. van Poecke said, “This fundraising effort reflects the market’s confidence in Carlyle and our ability to create value in the international energy sector. This is one of the best energy investing environments I’ve seen in more than 30 years in the industry. Carlyle’s broad energy platform plus a significant amount of dry powder enables us to leverage current opportunities and market volatility across the global energy markets.”
CIEP seeks investment opportunities in oil and gas outside North America, notably in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. The primary investment focus is on oil and gas exploration and production (E&P), mid- & downstream, refining and marketing (R&M) and oil field services (OFS).
CIEP’s current investments include: Varo Energy, a Swiss-based refining, storage and distribution business operating in Germany and Switzerland; Discover Exploration, an oil and gas exploration company based in the UK that focuses on Africa, Latin America and Asia; and HES International, a European liquids, dry-bulk storage and handling business located in The Netherlands.
The final close of CIEP further expands Carlyle’s global energy offering and brings more than $10 billion of capital to invest across the sector through CIEP (led by Marcel van Poecke), NGP Energy Capital Management (led by Ken Hersh), Carlyle Power Partners (co-headed by Robert Mancini & Matt O’Connor) and Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund (co-headed by David Albert and Rahul Culas).
The CIEP team consists of 14 investment professionals, all with extensive international oil and gas industry investment and operational expertise. In addition to Marcel van Poecke, it includes Managing Directors Bob Maguire and Joost Dröge, both industry veterans with 55 years’ combined successful energy investing experience, as well as Paddy Spink, Senior Advisor to CIEP, with 35 years’ upstream experience in Africa, Latin America & Europe. The advisory team for CIEP has offices in London and they will continue to benefit from the support of the firm’s global network of 40 offices.
Foto: Scott Rettberg
. Conferencia inaugural de Arthena sobre Activos de Arte e Inversión
Arthena, the first equity crowdfunding platform to give individuals access to invest with leaders in the art world, will hold an inaugural conference on Art Assets & Investment on April 2, 2015, at 54 W 40th St, New York. The conference will feature insights from leaders in the fields of art, finance, and technology, including the latest international art market trends, how to value art, and the importance of art as a both a financial investment and an investment of passion.
The panel on Art Assets & Investment will be moderated by Enrique Liberman, President of the Art Fund Association; opened by Louis F. Trevino, Senior Managing Director of Beamonte Investments; and will include the insights of Adrien Meyer, Christie’s, International Director of Impressionist & Modern Art; Alan Fausel, VP and Director of Fine Arts at Bonhams New York; James Martin, Founder of Orion Analytical; Javier Lumbreras, CEO of Artemundi Global Fund; Joseph Jacobs, Founder of Jacobs & Morawska; and Madelaine D’Angelo, Founder of Arthena, will be in charge of the concluding remarks.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFoto: Camelia at Wu, Flickr, Creative Commons. La UE y Suiza cierran un acuerdo de transparencia fiscal a partir de 2018
The European Commission has concluded negotiations on an ambitious new tax transparency agreement with Switzerland, marking a major step forward in the fight against tax evasion. Under this new agreement, Member States and Switzerland will automatically exchange information on the full range of financial account information from 2018.
This means that EU residents will no longer be able to hide undeclared income in Swiss accounts to evade paying tax.
Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: “We are taking a decisive step towards total tax transparency between Switzerland and the EU. I am confident that our other neighbours will soon follow suit. This transparency is vital to ensure that each country can collect the tax revenues it is due.”
Member States will receive, on an annual basis, the names, addresses, tax identification numbers and dates of birth of their residents with accounts in Switzerland, as well as a broad set of other financial and account balance information. This is fully in line with the new OECD/G20 global standard for the automatic exchange of information.
The new EU-Swiss agreement was initialled by Commission and Swiss negotiators. It will be signed following authorisation by the Council on one side and the Swiss Government on the other, both of which are expected to be before the summer.
Foto: Maus. La generación del milenio quiere conservar a los asesores familiares, según FOX
New research from Family Office Exchange (FOX), a global membership organization of private family enterprises and their key advisors, shows that Millennial wealth owners value and aim to retain their family’s advisors—if the advisors can adapt to meet Millennials’ expectations.
The FOX Family Client of the Future research, highlighted in new white paper “Engaging the Client of the Future,” finds that Millennial family clients are eager to work with experienced advisors who already know their family, and who can help them address their needs—just so long as the advisors are ready, willing and able to adjust to their Millennial clients’ expectations on engagement and value delivery.
“While Millennials’ needs are similar to those of their parents and grandparents, their expectations for how wealth advisors should meet those needs are notably different than those of earlier generations,” says Amy Hart Clyne, executive director of the knowledge center at FOX.
