Voya Financial announced that Paul J. Gennaro has joined the company as senior vice president, Corporate Communications, and chief communications officer. In this role, he will oversee all internal and external communications for Voya Financial, serving as a strategic advisor to senior management, setting the overall communications strategy, and both further defining and protecting the company’s reputation with key stakeholders. He will report to Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin, Jr.
“Paul is a recognized thought leader and has demonstrated experience working with several well-known global brands to help them strategically and effectively communicate with multiple stakeholders,” said Martin. “He has an impressive record, a diverse background of communications leadership roles, and significant experience overseeing programs to support a number of initiatives, including a successful initial public offering and a global rebranding effort. He will be a great asset as we continue to further define and protect our reputation in the industry and our brand in the marketplace. I’m pleased to have him on our team and I am looking forward to working closely with him as we continue to work toward achieving our vision to be America’s Retirement Company.”
Gennaro comes to Voya Financial with more than 25 years of experience and, during his career, has managed various facets of corporate and marketing communications, investor relations, public relations and government affairs. Most recently, Gennaro was senior vice president, Corporate Communications, and chief communications officer of AECOM, a $20 billion, fully integrated infrastructure and support services firm. At AECOM, Gennaro led all aspects of the firm’s global corporate communications, brand optimization and reputation management strategies. During his tenure at AECOM, which Gennaro joined in March 2006, he developed and executed communications strategies in support of more than 40 acquisitions, the company’s initial public offering and its global rebrand.
“I’m excited to join the Voya team and to be part of a company with a great vision and a commitment to helping Americans with their retirement readiness needs,” Gennaro said. “I look forward to helping build the Voya brand – and to helping Americans build a secure financial future.”
Prior to joining AECOM, Gennaro managed all global corporate and marketing communications for Johns Manville, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. He has also held communications leadership roles for global brands such as Ingersoll-Rand, Dell, and American Express. Gennaro began his career as a print/broadcast journalist and public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy.
Gennaro received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a board member of Ethisphere LLC, serves on the board of advisors for the Emory University Center for Ethics, and also is on the board of directors for the DINFOS Foundation, which supports the U.S. Department of Defense Information School.
Gennaro is the recipient of several professional awards, including being named PR Week magazine’s PR Professional of the Year in 2013. He also received the 2013 John W. Hill Award from the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and, in 2010, the International Business Award for Communications Executive of the Year.
Franklin Square today has hired Berta Aldrich to serve as the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer. Ms. Aldrich joins the firm after spending the last 10 years with Vanguard, where she held executive positions in marketing strategy and planning, loyalty operations and investment education.
“Berta is a highly respected marketer and educator in our industry and we are delighted she has joined Franklin Square,” said Michael C. Forman, Chairman and CEO, Franklin Square. “Berta will help us further strengthen our position as a leader in alternative investments and our support for client and investor education programs.”
In her most recent position as Head of Marketing Strategy for Vanguard, Ms. Aldrich led the channel marketing efforts for the growth and expansion of its $1 trillion dollar Financial Advisory Services division. She previously served as Department Head of Vanguard’s Acquisition and Loyalty Marketing Operations, Marketing Executive to the Institutional Full-Service Retirement division and Head of Investor Education and Program Development. Before joining Vanguard, Ms. Aldrich had a 13-year career at the Principal Financial Group.
“Franklin Square is a leader in providing individual investors access to alternative investments historically reserved for large institutions,” commented Ms. Aldrich. “I am excited to join such an innovative, dynamic firm and a team that places such great emphasis on investor protection, client care and civic engagement.”
In 2013, Ms. Aldrich was named among Gramercy Institute’s 20 Rising Stars in Financial Marketing. She holds an MBA with honors from St. Joseph’s University and a BA in Finance from Iowa State University. Ms. Aldrich is a member of the board of directors for Camphill Special School and is a previous board member of the Mutual Fund Education Association.
Columbia Management announced today that it will rebrand its business as Columbia Threadneedle Investments in the first half of 2015. The new global brand will represent the combined capabilities, resources and reach of Columbia and UK-based Threadneedle Investments, offering clients access to the best of both firms and positioning the asset management group for a greater share of global growth.
Threadneedle has assets under management (AUM) of $150 billion (as of September 30, 2014) and is the fifth largest retail asset manager in the UK (IMA as of October 31, 2014). Together, Columbia and Threadneedle have $505 billion in AUM across developed and emerging market equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. Both firms are owned by Ameriprise Financial.
The new brand – Columbia Threadneedle Investments – will reinforce the strength of both firms in established markets of the U.S., UK, and Europe and enable the group to grow its presence in key markets, including Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East, stated the firm.
The established investment teams, strategies, processes and legal entities at both firms will not change as a result of the new global brand. Similarly, existing funds will not change, nor will existing client portfolios and mandates.
“This is an important and exciting new phase for us. We are bringing together a combined offering under the Columbia Threadneedle Investments global brand for the benefit of our clients and our business,” said Ted Truscott, CEO – Global Asset Management, Ameriprise Financial. “Columbia and Threadneedle have been working together for more than two years to increase the breadth and depth of our offering to clients. Presenting the combined capabilities of both firms under a single brand is the natural next step.”
“We are introducing the Columbia Threadneedle Investments brand to reflect the significant resources and expertise available to our teams around the globe. By working together we add depth to our offerings, enabling us to make better investment decisions and ultimately generate better performance for our clients, and the new global brand reflects this. Clients around the world benefit from our combined research ideas and insights, trading techniques and portfolio strategies,” Truscott said.
“Columbia and Threadneedle share many philosophies and values, including a commitment to delivering the investment outcomes our clients expect,” said Colin Moore, Global Chief Investment Officer. “In a world where financial markets and economies are increasingly interconnected, being part of a strong global partnership with our colleagues at Threadneedle is a considerable advantage. Over recent years we have deliberately fostered an environment of information sharing and debate between Columbia and Threadneedle, and I believe the aggregate resource is world class. While our investment teams remain true to their respective styles and processes, the sharing of research globally allows us to make full use of our collective intellectual capital and better inform our decisions to the benefit of our clients.”
“Columbia and Threadneedle have a shared vision, business strategy and values, albeit with distinct investment capabilities, local distribution and unique product offerings,” said Campbell Fleming, CEO of Threadneedle. “Under the new brand we become a global group, presenting our combined resources, investment perspectives and expertise to better serve our clients, both individuals and institutions, around the world.”
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), has released its latest international statistical release containing the worldwide investment fund industry results for the third quarter of 2014.
Investment fund assets worldwide increased 6.2 percent during the third quarter to stand at EUR 27.24 trillion at end September 2014. In U.S. dollar terms, worldwide investment fund assets decreased 2.2percent to US$ 34.28 trillion on account of U.S. dollar appreciation during the quarter.
Worldwide net cash inflows amounted to EUR 290 billion, up from EUR 252 billion in the previous quarter. A turnaround in net flows into money market funds was the main driver behind this result.
Long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) continued to register net inflows amounting to EUR 223 billion during the third quarter, albeit down from EUR 301 billion registered in the previous quarter.
Worldwide equity funds recorded reduced net inflows of EUR 24 billion, down from EUR 48 billion in the previous quarter. Worldwide bond funds registered net inflows of EUR 79 billion, compared to EUR 112 billion in the previous quarter. Balanced funds recorded reduced net inflows of EUR 72 billion, down from EUR 81 billion in the second quarter.
Money market funds recorded a turnaround in net flows during the third quarter as net inflows amounted to EUR 67 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 49 billion in the previous quarter.The United States registered net inflows of EUR 33 billion during the quarter, with Europe attracting EUR 13 billion in net new money.
At the end of the third quarter, assets of equity funds represented 40 percent and bond funds represented 22 percent of all investment fund assets worldwide.The asset share of money market funds was 13 percent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 12 percent.
The market share of the ten largest countries/regions in the world market were the United States (50.3%), Europe (28.7%), Australia (4.9%), Brazil (4.7%), Canada (3.7%), Japan (3.2%), China (1.8%), Rep. of Korea (1.0%), South Africa (0.5%) and India (0.4%). Taking into account non-UCITS assets, the market share of Europe reached 36.3 percent at end September 2014.
Robeco has appointed Maureen Schlejen as head of institutional sales and account management in charge of the Benelux and Nordic countries.
Based in Rotterdam, Schlejen will lead a team of account managers and be responsible for building Robeco’s institutional client base in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Nordics.
Schlejen has been with Robeco since 1995, most recently as senior account manager institutional clients. She replaces Eric van der Maarel, who left the firm to join Aegon.
Prudential market experts expect moderate growth in 2015 – led by the United States – as global economies continue to recover. Outlining their views at Prudential Financial, Inc.’s 2015 Global Economic and Retirement Outlook discussion, they said any growth is likely to be uneven across the globe and in the face of increased and prolonged volatility.
Ed Keon, managing director of QMA, said the current environment will lead to continued low yields for bonds and yet another strong year for the stock market.
“Bond yields have stayed low after the end of quantitative easing for a simple reason: bond demand is very strong, and bond supply is modest. Strong demand and modest supply means high prices in any market, and leads to low yields for bonds,” Keon said. “In the short run, stocks can continue to perform well as low interest rates support higher than normal valuations, but higher valuations carry a long-term cost. Eventually expected returns of stock and bond portfolios might be lower than historical norms, creating challenges for many investors.”
Mike Lillard, chief investment officer of Prudential Fixed Income, agrees that the outlook for stocks is more attractive than for bonds. Lillard also believes interest rates will remain low with the health of the economy weighing heavily on any Federal Reserve decisions.
“June would be my liftoff date for a rate hike from the Fed, but they will do it very slowly and patiently. If the economy begins to soften, however, they will stop to avoid sending us into another recession,” said Lillard. “They are going to be highly data dependent, and at the end of the day, our expectation is that they won’t be able to get short term rates very high.”
Quincy Krosby, a Prudential market strategist, warned that the recent slide in oil may not be as beneficial as Fed members make it out to be. She also questions whether a rate hike by the Fed could ultimately harm the economy.
“While consumer spending may have increased in the United States, the Fed needs to worry more about what lower energy prices mean globally. It could be signaling a decrease in demand in places like China, Europe, and Japan, which could lead to decreased production and job cuts in the energy sector,” said Krosby. “Taking that into account, the Fed also has to keep in mind that when rates rise, something always breaks. There’s no telling what asset class may start the ball rolling, but it can’t come as a surprise. That said, it has been the velocity of the oil price plunge that caught markets off guard. Consumers, however, are net beneficiaries of lower prices.”
John Praveen, chief investment strategist for Prudential International Investments, cautioned that divergent monetary policies from central banks are likely to lead to volatility in the coming year and that current and future geopolitical risk cannot be dismissed.
“The start of quantitative easing in Europe and possibly Japan will allow for greater expansion in those markets compared to the United States, yet any unforeseen risks could derail that proposition,” Praveen said. “Europe was supposed to be on an upswing in 2014, but Putin’s actions held any potential rally in check. With such interconnected global economies, any geopolitical or major risk can hold everything back.”
Sri Reddy, head of full service investments with Prudential Retirement, recognizes that this low growth environment described by Prudential’s market experts will challenge investors to think creatively when it comes to retirement income and will cause a shift in how retirement products are structured.
“This prolonged low interest rate and low growth economy has investors looking for new options to generate retirement income,” Reddy said. “Things like automatic enrollment plans, auto escalation options, and enhanced defined contribution plans need to become more of an industry norm to secure retirement income for today’s workers. With people living longer than ever before, the industry needs to continue to adjust.”
Foto: woodleywonderworks. Blackstone y TSSP compran Acenden Mortgage a los administradores de Lehman Brothers
Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and TPG Special Situations Partners have agreed to acquire Acenden Mortgage Servicing Solutions from the administrators of Lehman Brothers.
Acenden is a mortgage servicing solutions provider. The Company provides primary servicing, special servicing, analytics and securitisation services. It has more than 64,000 loans under management, with a value of about £5.4bn (at December 2013). Acenden employs almost 400 staff located in central London, High Wycombe and Dublin.
Amany Attia, Chief Executive Officer of Acenden, said: “We are excited to work with Blackstone and TSSP and believe that Acenden is well placed to benefit in the long term from the collaboration with our new shareholders.”
The transaction is expected to close in early 2015, subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.
Asset managers globally recognize the importance of building brand awareness and have been increasing resources to support marketing and sales activities in this area, according to the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge – Global Edition.
A recent Cerulli Associates survey of European asset managers revealed that 77% expected to allocate more to marketing in 2014. And significantly, no manager intended to reduce their marketing budget.
“We believe this strong trend will continue into 2015,” noted Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli. “The recovering market and increased competition between managers merit allocating more to marketing and sales strategies. And overwhelmingly, managers globally share this view.”
In Cerulli’s U.S. proprietary survey of marketers, 78% of small and mid-size managers expected to increase their marketing budgets compared to 38% of large managers. The smaller managers need to spend more on marketing and building brand because they have significantly smaller salesforces and wholesaling operations.
A similar picture emerged in Asia where 63% of marketers anticipated an increase in their marketing budget. In total 29% expected the budget to increase by more than 10%, 11.5% forecast an increase between 6% and 10%, while 23% said the budget would increase by a modest 1% to 6%.
“Opportunity to grow local market presence throughout Asia and Europe is certainly on the cards,” said Angelos Gousios, a Cerulli senior analyst. “With increased competition in all regions, brand awareness is the key to gaining an edge in this game. But cultural and local nuances, especially in Asia, mean a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy is unlikely to succeed no matter how much money is thrown at it.”
The UBS Global Asset Management US Pension Fund Fitness Tracker saw the funding ratio of the typical corporate US pension plan drop by approximately two percentage points to 87% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
“Overall, 2014 was a negative year for US corporate pension plans, as we estimate that the average funding ratio declined by about 8 percentage points. After a 17% funding ratio improvement in 2013, the 8% decline in 2014 highlights the importance of plan sponsors adhering to their de-risking program and thereby minimizing the volatility of their funded status ge points. After a 17% funding ratio improvement in 2013, the 8% decline in 2014 highlights the importance of plan sponsors adhering to their de-risking program and thereby minimizing the volatility of their funded status”, says UBS Global AM.
Investment returns of 2.5% could not keep pace with the 5% increase in liability values over the quarter, causing funding ratios to decrease. In 2014, funding ratios decreased approximately eight percentage points. These estimates are based on the average corporate plan’s reported asset allocation weightings from the UBS Global Asset Management Pension 500 Database and publicly available benchmark information.
The sharp decline in oil prices dominated the last quarter of 2014. This is seen as a net positive by the chair of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Janet Yellen; however, it also has damaging economic consequences for oil exporting countries. Russia in particular has been hit by the combination of falling oil prices, economic sanctions and the fall of its currency. OPEC decided not to cut production at this stage, despite oil prices reaching a 5-year low.
In the U.S., the Fed updated its commitment to keeping rates low from “considerable time” to “patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy”, as expected by market participants. The fall in oil prices contributed to the decrease in inflation expectations.
The economic slowdown continued in China while snap elections were called in Japan and Greece. The political uncertainty in Greece remained cause for concerns in Europe, which translated into increased volatility of the European market indices at the end of the year.
Further to a correction in the first half of October, the S&P 500 Index went on to end the quarter up with a total return of 4.93%. In US dollar (USD) terms, the Euro Stoxx Total Return Index was down 4.54% over the quarter. The MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index ended the quarter down 4.44% in USD terms.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury Notes ended the quarter down 32 basis points (bps) at 2.17%. The yield on 30-year US Treasury Notes decreased 45 bps, ending at 2.75%. High-quality corporate bond credit spreads, as measured by the Barclays Long Credit A+ option-adjusted spread, ended the quarter 16 bps wider. As a result, pension discount rates (which are based on the yield of high-quality investment grade corporate bonds) decreased over the quarter. The passage of time caused liabilities for a typical pension plan to increase by about one percentage point over the quarter. Together, these effects caused liabilities to increase 5.0% for the quarter.
Funding ratios decreased approximately eight percentage points in 2014. US Pension Fund Fitness Tracker of the typical US corporate plan’s funding ratio. Source: UBS Global Asset Management, Barclays, Markit.
Pixabay CC0 Public Domain. RACE organiza su primer torneo de golf solidario en colaboración con la Asociación Artrogriposis España
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) announced this week its 2nd annual social media campaign, the #AllianzBirdies Challenge, taking place between Jan. 15th and Feb. 8th, the final day of the Allianz Championship at the Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Fla. This year, every public mention on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram during that time period with the hashtag #AllianzBirdies will generate a $1 donation, up to a total of $40,000, for Junior Achievement of South Florida, with Allianz Life already committing a minimum of $10,000 to the organization.
“Last year’s inaugural #AllianzBirdies Challenge was a great success so we’re excited to expand the program in 2015. Our goal is to raise even more money for Junior Achievement in South Florida,” said Allianz Life Chief Marketing Officer Nancy Jones. “Junior Achievement’s commitment to helping young people build their financial literacy skills is a shared passion with Allianz Life and one which we’re thrilled to support through this exciting campaign.”
Photo Ops and Free Online Golf Game
In addition to golf fans using the #AllianzBirdies hashtag every time they witness a birdie from any of the legends of golf participating in the 2015 tournament, this year’s Challenge encourages people to share the hashtag in new ways, including via fun photos at the event. Volunteers from Junior Achievement of South Florida will be at the Allianz Championship Feb. 6-8, promoting photo opportunities in several ways, including a special #AllianzBirdies photo frame to enhance their digital photos.
Golf fans can also participate in the #AllianzBirdies Challenge by accessing the free golf game from World Golf Tour and playing in a virtual Allianz Championship tournament at the St. Andrews Links course between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15, 2015. Whenever players score a birdie during the virtual tournament, they will be prompted to share their accomplishment via social media with the #AllianzBirdies hashtag, which will generate an additional $1 donation to Junior Achievement of South Florida. Available online at WGT.com or via a free mobile app in the iTunes store, the game allows players to participate in monthly tournaments and a season-long points race with a championship in December 2015.
Focus on Financial Literacy, Lessons You’ve Learned
For anyone who can’t make it to the Allianz Championship, Allianz and Junior Achievement encourage people to share the #AllianzBirdies hashtag between Jan. 15 and Feb. 8 with social media posts that highlight the most important financial lesson they learned as kids and/or ways they see youth achieving great things in their community.
“We want to make financial literacy a significant part of the everyday experience for today’s youth, so we’re hopeful that more conversation on the topic through the #AllianzBirdies Challenge will help make that a reality,” said John Ray, Chairman of Junior Achievement of South Florida.
Follow Along Using Social Media
Starting Jan. 15, Allianz Life will share updates about the #AllianzBirdies Challenge via Twitter (@AllianzLife and @AllianzLifeNews) and Facebook (Facebook.com/AllianzLife). For more information about the #AllianzBirdies Challenge and the Allianz Championship, visit allianzchampionship.com.
With 13 chapters in Florida, Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Allianz Life partners with Junior Achievement because of its focus on improving financial literacy. During the past two years, Allianz Life has donated more than $328,000 to Junior Achievement both in South Florida and in Minnesota, where the company is based.
The 2015 Allianz Championship is the first tournament of the early-season Florida swing for the Champions Tour. The Golf Channel will televise all three rounds on Feb. 6, 7, and 8 with tournament proceeds donated to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
