The Board of Directors of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. announced the appointment of Jason A. Kulas as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kulas succeeds Thomas G. Dundon, the company’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in line with SCUSA’s Board-approved succession plan. Mr. Dundon will continue to serve as a member of the SCUSA Board of Directors and as a senior adviser to the company.
After successfully growing the SCUSA business over the last 20 years, including nine years as CEO, Mr. Dundon has decided to pursue new opportunities.
The Board of SCUSA has appointed Lead Outside Director Stephen Ferriss as interim Chairman, effective until the July 15 SCUSA annual meeting.
Mr. Dundon said: “I am proud to have been part of the company’s success and fortunate to have worked with so many outstanding, driven colleagues over the years. This is a great company and with Jason Kulas at the helm, supported by our talented management team, I am confident SCUSA will become an even stronger player in the consumer finance industry.”
Scott Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Santander Holdings USA and head of Santander’s operations in the United States, said: “We thank Tom for his vision and leadership as a founder of SCUSA, and a driver of its growth and success. Jason Kulas has the experience and strategic vision to lead SCUSA. Jason has been with SCUSA for eight years and has a deep understanding of its business, operations and people. I am confident in his ability to lead this business into the future.”
Mr. Kulas joined the company in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer, after covering SCUSA, since its founding, as an investment banker at JPMorgan. As CFO, he oversaw the company’s treasury, accounting, financial planning, capital markets and corporate strategy divisions. Mr. Kulas became President in 2013 and, since SCUSA’s IPO in 2014, has overseen the company’s corporate development, asset management, investor relations and various regulatory functions including the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. Mr. Kulas will join the Board of Directors of SCUSA and, subject to regulatory approvals, Santander Holdings USA.
Mr. Kulas said: “I am honored by the Board’s decision to name me as Tom’s successor. Tom was pivotal in growing the Company from a local start-up to a leading, national technology-driven consumer finance business. The changes in Tom’s role at SCUSA have been amicably agreed and are unrelated to the company’s performance or regulatory standing. On behalf of the company’s management team, I thank him for his valuable contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. This is an exciting time for the business and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we seek to grow the business in the months and years ahead.”
Jason Grubb, Chief Operating Officer, Originations of SCUSA, will succeed Mr. Kulas as President. Mr. Grubb joined SCUSA in 2004 as Senior Vice President of Servicing. He was Chief Operating Officer from January 2007to October 2014 and became Chief Operating Officer, Originations in October 2014. Prior to joining SCUSA, Mr. Grubb held positions at WFS Financial, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp, and Commercial Financial Services.
Jennifer Popp has been appointed interim Chief Financial Officer of SCUSA while a search is underway for a permanent replacement. Ms. Popp has served in the finance industry since 2001, and joined SCUSA in July 2012. She most recently served as Chief Accounting Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
In connection with Mr. Dundon’s departure as SCUSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Santander Holdings USA will, subject to the applicable regulatory approvals, exercise a call option to acquire all of the approximately 9.68% of SCUSA common stock held by DDFS LLC, an entity solely owned by Mr. Dundon.
Additional details regarding Mr. Dundon’s separation will be filed by SCUSA with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Foto: LenDog64. John Hancock Investments entra en el negocio de los UCITS
John Hancock recently announced the launch of John Hancock Worldwide Investors, PLC, a Dublin-domiciled UCITS platform designed to extend the reach of firm’s signature manager-of-managers approach. Effective this week, the firm will make available four of its highly rated investment strategies targeted at non-US residents and UCITS model programs of our U.S. distribution partners.
As part of its commitment to this strategic market, John Hancock Investments has hired industry veteran Angela Billick to lead the UCITS product platform. Mrs. Billick will leverage her nearly 20 years of international business development experience in UCITS to serve the needs of investors.
“We are pleased to be able to provide our industry-leading manager selection and oversight capabilities to a new market,” said Andrew G. Arnott, President and CEO. “Our new UCITS platform is a natural continuation of the rapid growth we have experienced in the United States and a reflection of the strong demand we have received from our US broker/dealer partner firms for offshore funds that mirror some of our most popular US mutual funds.”
John Hancock Worldwide Investors, PLC is making available four of the firm’s most sought-after strategies in a choice of five UCITS share classes. These initial strategies are managed by portfolio teams at Manulife Asset Management and GMO Europe LLC:
John Hancock Strategic Income Opportunities Fund
John Hancock High Yield Fund
John Hancock U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund
John Hancock Global Equity (Ex.-U.S.) Fund
“We believe these four strategies help address today’s investor need for new sources of income, along with proven equity strategies with a measure of downside protection,” said Leo M. Zerilli, CIMA, head of investments at John Hancock Investments. “These are not simply challenges for U.S. investors; these are global challenges.”
John Hancock Investments is a premier asset manager with a unique manager-of-managers approach, whereby the firm builds funds based on investor needs, then searches the globe for the best managers with proven track records to lead those funds. John Hancock Investments has more than 165 professionals specializing in manager research and oversight, vetting over 250 investment strategies annually and overseeing relationships with 72 portfolio teams at 27 elite firms worldwide.
More than half of the world’s mutual fund assets reside outside the United States. The UCITS market is estimated to consist of more than $8 trillion in assets, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.
As the crackdown on “closet trackers” gathers pace in Europe, concerns are growing that the metric used to identify those funds that charge active management fees while merely hugging the index could undermine performance, according to the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge – Global Edition.
The regulatory spotlight has fallen on closet trackers recently. In May the Swedish government launched an investigation in the wake of the Swedish Shareholders’ Association filing a lawsuit against a leading fund house, alleging that it had mis-sold closet trackers to retail investors. Regulators in Denmark and Norway have also been proactive.
Cerulli Associates, a global analytics firm, notes that in response to heightening regulatory scrutiny more managers are voluntarily disclosing data showing the extent to which a fund’s portfolio diverges from its benchmark. “Active share” is the most commonly used measure, with a score less than 60% deemed to be index hugging.
“Active share, however, is no panacea and used in isolation is more likely to be misleading. It should be used alongside other relevant metrics, such as information ratio data showing the portfolio returns above the benchmark in relation to the volatility of those returns,” says Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli Associates.
Noting that there are times in an investment cycle when it might be prudent to stay close to the benchmark, Cerulli warns that a manager who feels obliged to maintain a certain active share is at risk of picking the wrong stocks simply to increase the deviation from the benchmark. Strict adherence to the tool may also prevent a manager from buying stocks that have a large weight in the index, even if they are expected to outperform.
Another limitation concerns the definition of being “active”, which typically refers to the actual shares that are owned. But “active” can also apply to a portfolio that largely adheres to the index, provided the manager has not simply taken a buy-and-hold approach and that performance is influenced by the timing of trades in those constituents.
Firms that are already disclosing the active share figure tend to have house management styles that are unconstrained in relation to benchmarks. Firms where the emphasis is on delivering outperformance with a relatively low-risk, low-active share element would be understandably anxious, says Cerulli, about publishing their active share figure. “They would also point out–with some justification–that a low active share doesn’t mean they are a closet tracker and that they should be judged on performance alone,” says Wall.
Cerulli believes that, used in conjunction with other metrics, active share can be a useful tool in promoting accountability and transparency. Laura D’Ippolito, a senior analyst at Cerulli, says: “Views within the European fund industry on the value of the active share figure differ widely, but what is clear is that the debate–which also takes in the active/passive issue–is only going to intensify.”
Other Findings:
With active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at long last gaining traction in the United States, active mutual fund managers should seriously consider offering their strategies in these securities, advises Cerulli. It notes, however, that the path to success remains difficult. Another structure the firm recommends is the new exchange-traded managed fund.
The penetration rate of mutual funds in Asia ex-Japan has dropped to about 6.5% of household financial assets (HHFA) in 2013 from 9% in 2009, despite HHFAs expanding at, or close to, double-digit rates annually. Cerulli believes that the decline can in part be attributed to the short-termism that drives investment–in Taiwan, for instance, Cerulli has found that fund retention ranges from about six to nine months for the average investor, while in China it can be as short as a month. The firm says that analysis of the decision-making provides useful insights for determining product selection.
In the United Kingdom, active management is no longer the be-all and end-all for discretionary investment managers, says Cerulli, noting that a combination of regulatory change and the low-growth environment is forcing firms to review costs and portfolios. Not only are passive funds now more common in discretionary portfolios, but their role–and that of active funds–is changing. The analytics firm says that active managers face a challenge in staying relevant in a world in which cost is king, passives are core, and sustainable alpha is key.
New research from Standard Life Investments suggests that improvements in corporate governance at Japanese companies have the potential to raise the value of the Japanese stock market by 15% to 30%.
Prime Minister Abe’s administration has announced a range of policies designed to embolden corporate risk-taking – one area with high prominence in this growth strategy is boardroom reform. In the latest edition of Global Perspective, Govinda Finn, Senior Japan Analyst and Chris Faulkner-MacDonagh, Markets Strategist, Standard Life Investments, examine whether this governance reform will be the catalyst for a wider revitalization of the Japanese economy.
Govinda Finn, Senior Japan Analyst, Standard Life Investments, said:
“Many global investors have moved heavy or overweight in Japanese equity markets since the Abe government gained power. Yet Japan faces a growth conundrum. With a declining population and high levels of economic development, the prospect of future growth led by capital accumulation is low.
“To ensure that global investment in Japan becomes a longer term phenomenon, rather than a short term tactical trade, efforts to improve the capital efficiency of Japanese companies, and raise the return on equity for shareholders, become ever more important.
“Key engagement and governance policies for shareholders and institutional investors to monitor for progress over the coming months are: increasing board independence; expanding investor relations efforts; M&A activity; return on equity strategies; shareholder voting practices; restructuring of business operations; plus environmental and social policies.
“There is hope that a transition to a more market based engagement approach will encourage businesses in Japan to make better investment decisions and boost shareholder value. This approach, when combined with other initiatives in the nation’s revitalization plan such as trade liberalization and labor market reform, may unlock further productivity growth.”
Oficinas centrales de Banco Ficohsa Guatemala - Foto cedida. Grupo Financiero Ficohsa toma el control de las operaciones de Citi en Nicaragua
Grupo Financiero Ficohsa (GFF) announced that it has completed the purchase of Banco Citibank de Nicaragua, S.A. and Cititarjetas de Nicaragua, S.A., after the Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions of Nicaragua (SIBOIF) and the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) authorized the transaction.
“Today we begin to deliver on our commitment to invest in Nicaragua,” stated Camilo Atala, president of Grupo Financiero Ficohsa. “We arrive with great expectation and with responsible practices to contribute to the country’s development.”
With the entry to Nicaragua, and following an expansion process both in Honduras and the Central America region, Ficohsa establishes its presence in four countries. In May, the Group successfully completed the integration of Citi’s consumer banking unit in Honduras, an experience that Ficohsa is using to ensure a smooth transition for clients and employees in Nicaragua.
Within the next few days, Citi’s agencies, ATMs and service points will be rebranded to Banco Ficohsa Nicaragua. However, customers will continue to conduct their transactions through the usual and customary processes and the channels they typically use. Additionally, all customer benefits and obligations, will remain the same. Ficohsa will honor its commitments to customers, who will retain points, miles and awards accumulated.
Ficohsa informed that the group’s plans in Nicaragua include the expansion of its network, which will entail expanding its workforce. Additionally, the group indicated that they would integrate various Ficohsa products and services gradually, to ensure a seamless transition.
Ficohsa takes over the totality of Citi’s operations in Nicaragua, including the more than 600 employees who join the group. “We are thrilled to welcome our new employees in Nicaragua into the Ficohsa family,” said Atala. “They will be the key to our success in the Nicaraguan market and in this integration process that begins today.”
The financial group, the first of Honduran capital to enter Nicaragua, appointed Marco Antonio López as executive president. López, a renowned Nicaraguan banker, until today served as regional vice president of business development at Ficohsa.
“I am pleased to come back home with Ficohsa and with a clear mandate to support the country’s productive sector and reinforce existing SME and consumer banking services, as well as expand the business into new areas, such as corporate banking,” added López. “The idea is to offer the most innovative financial services in the market.”
Today, Grupo Financiero Ficohsa includes the largest bank and insurance company in Honduras, as well as banking operations in Guatemala, Panama and Nicaragua, and financial services in the United States. After the acquisition, the group encompasses US$ 4.016 billion in assets, US$ 2.645 billion in loans, US$ 522 million in equity, US$ 2.577 billion in deposits, and more than 6,600 employees (using figures as of May 31, 2015.) This enables Grupo Ficohsa to strengthen its position among the 10 leading financial groups in Central America.
Ashley Lester - Foto cecida. Schroders nombra nuevo responsable global de análisis de soluciones de carteras e inversiones multiactivo
Schroders hasannounced the appointment of a new role within its $114.7 billion –as at 31 March 2015- Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions Business. Ashley Lester has been appointed as the Global Head of Research. He will join Schroders in July and will report to Nico Marais, Head of Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions.
Ashley joins from MSCI where he was Head of Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Class Research. Before joining MSCI Ashley was Head of Market Risk Research at Morgan Stanley. Ashley was previously an Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics and Columbia Business School.
Ashley will join Schroders’ well established business and team of Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions specialists in New York.
Nico Marais, Head of Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions, commented: “We are pleased to have Ashley lead our global research team as we deepen our experience and thought-leadership around portfolio construction, asset allocation, risk premia based investing and as we continue to build out our advanced beta capabilities.”
Juan Garcia. Juan Garcia se incorpora a Eaton Vance como especialista Offshore
Eaton Vance recently announced Juan Garcia is joining the company as offshore specialist for North and South America, working in concert with Vince Leon, director of offshore sales, to bring timely solutions in varied market environments.
To Eaton Vance, Juan brings more than 10 years of industry experience, most recently with the MFS Offshore team. He previously worked for Fidelity Investments and Suntrust Bank as Financial Representative,and for Easthampton Savings Bank as Customer Service Representative.
Juan Garcia holds an MBA with honors from Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University, a Certificate in Financial Planning by Boston University and a BBA, Management, by theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst. Originally from Mexico, Juan now resides in Boston with his wife.
Willis Group Holdings and Towers Watson today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals transaction. Based on the closing prices of Willis and Towers Watson common stock on June 29, 2015, the implied equity value of the transaction is approximately $18 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of each company. The combined company will be named Willis Towers Watson.
Upon completion of the merger, terms of which are detailed below, Willis shareholders will own approximately 50.1% and Towers Watson shareholders will own approximately 49.9% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.
The combination of Willis and Towers Watson brings together two highly complementary businesses to create an integrated global advisory, broking, and solutions provider to serve a broad range of clients in existing and new business lines. The combined company will have approximately 39,000 employees in over 120 countries, and pro forma revenue of approximately $8.2 billion and adjusted /underlying EBITDA of over $1.7 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.
John Haley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Towers Watson, said, “This is a tremendous combination of two highly compatible companies with complementary strategic priorities, product and service offerings, and geographies that we expect to deliver significant value for both sets of shareholders. We see numerous opportunities to enhance our growth profile by offering integrated solutions that leverage Willis’ global distribution network and superb risk advisory and re/insurance broking capabilities to deliver a more robust set of analytics and product solutions across a broader client base, including accelerating penetration of our Exchange Solutions platform into the fast growing middle-market. We also expect to realize substantial efficiencies by bringing our two organizations together, and have a well-defined integration roadmap to capitalize on identified savings, ensure the strongest combination of talent and practices, and realize the full benefits of the merger for all of our stakeholders.”
Dominic Casserley, Willis CEO, said, “These are two companies with world-class brands and shared values. The rationale for the merger is powerful – at one stroke, the combination fast-tracks each company’s growth strategy and offers a truly compelling value proposition to our clients. Together we will help our clients achieve superior performance through effective risk, people and financial management. We will advise over 80% of the world’s top-1000 companies, as well as having a significant presence with mid-market and smaller employers around the world.”
Transaction delivers key strategic and financial benefits such as powerful global platform for profitable growth; Accelerates growth in exchange market; Expands international profile; Strong financial profile; and highly achievable cost synergies.
Upon closing of the transaction, James McCann will become Chairman, John Haley will be Chief Executive Officer and Dominic Casserley will be President and Deputy CEO. The new company’s board will consist of 12 directors total – six nominated by Willis and six by Towers Watson, including Towers Watson’s and Willis’ current CEOs. Additionally, Roger Millay will be CFO.
Dominic Casserley and Gene Wickes from Towers Watson have been chosen to oversee the Integration
The transaction is expected to close by December 31, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and approval by both Willis and Towers Watson shareholders.
Cerulli Associates’report entitled European Fund Selector 2015: Securing a Place on the Buy List has found that buyers value transparency of process above all else-including performance.
Fund selectors told Cerulli that since the financial crisis good communication has become even more important, not just for continuous updates, but also to provide granular information. New research showed that fund buyers ranked investment process as the top factor in selection, followed by access to a portfolio manager. And they ranked performance third on the list.
“A well-run investment house should be transparent and accountable, therefore it should have no qualms about giving access to fund managers, to allow selectors to question their decisions or to clarify market events,” said Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli and one of the report authors.
But fund managers seem not to have grasped this concern yet and, as they did last year, rated performance as the top prerequisite to win business. They also rated poor fund performance as the primary sacking offence.
And despite access to portfolio managers having gained so much importance for selectors in the past year, this criterion ranks only eighth out of the 11 selection-winning factors that fund managers were asked to rate.
The dissonance between what selectors want and what fund managers think selectors want raises questions: Are fund managers not listening to their clients? Or are selectors not clear enough? Whatever the reason for this divergence in outlook, fund managers must find the best way to bridge the difference.
“Investment management is changing from a box-ticking exercise into a service, making fund managers partners, not just executors of a strategy,” said Angelos Gousios, an associate director at Cerulli and one of the report’s authors. “This change implies more work and the allocation of more resources to client meetings, but it is also a positive development that will lead to higher standards in the market,” he added.
Photo: Hernán Piñera. Itaú Unibanco To Approve the Merger With Corpbanca in Extraordinary General Meeting
Itaú Unibanco last Friday announced that the merger between Banco Itaú Chile and CorpBanca, pursuant to the Transaction Agreement which was disclosed to the market through a notice of material fact dated January 29, 2014, was approved by the shareholders of CorpBanca in the Extraordinary General Meeting held that day.
Therefore, as controlling shareholder of BIC, Itaú Unibanco will approve the Merger in BIC’s Extraordinary General Meeting to be held tomorrow, June 30, 2015.
As previously disclosed, the Merger shall be implemented as a merger of BIC with and into CorpBanca, resulting in an ownership by Itaú Unibanco of 33.58% of the shares of the merged bank.
Considering the approval of the Merger by the shareholders of CorpBanca and BIC, the transaction shall now be analyzed by the competent regulatory authority in Chile, the Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras (“SBIF”). The approval by SBIF shall be in addition to the other necessary regulatory approvals already obtained from the competent regulatory authorities in Brazil, Colombia and Panama, being the involved parties’ intention to conclude the Merger by early January 2016.
The conclusion of the Merger shall benefit the shareholders of BIC and CorpBanca since it means the creation of one of the strongestfinancial institutions of Latin America, with approximately US$ 48 billion in assets, a total credit portfolio of approximately US$ 33 billion and approximately US$ 28 billion in deposits; It will bring together a larger customer service network, with 226 branches in Chile and 172 branches in Colombia; There will be an improvement in funding costs and leverage capacity of Level 1 capital; and there are annual synergies estimated in US$ 100 million before taxes after the conclusion of the integration of the banks.
The Merger is aligned with Itaú Unibanco’s commitments with long-term creation of value and sustainable performance and with its Latin America expansion strategy, consolidating its leadership position in such market, especially by establishing a stronger presence in Colombia’s banking sector.
