Investec appointed Florian von Hartig Head of Debt Capital Markets in its Specialist Bank. He joins from Standard Bank, where he was global head of debt primary markets, Investec said in a statement as mentioned by Reuters. Based in London, he reports to Chris Meyer, head of corporate and institutional banking.
Von Hartig joined Standard Bank on December 2005, leaving last October. Ian Dixon, a member of Investec’s debt capital markets, had been an interim responsible for the division since October 2013. Dixon will remain at the bank within the high-yield segment.
Pioneer Investments has announced two new senior hires to lead U.S. Intermediary Distribution and U.S. Marketing and Product Development.
Mark Spina has been named Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. Intermediary Distribution, effective January 5, 2015. He will lead internal and external wholesaling, business development, and relationship management teams focused on building relationships with leading financial intermediaries. He will be responsible for distributing Pioneer’s investment solutions, including mutual funds, sub-advisor services and closed-end funds. He is a member of the firm’s U.S. Management Committee and reports to Lisa Jones, President and CEO of Pioneer Investment Management USA Inc.
“Mark has extensive experience across all channels and a demonstrated track record of enhancing partnerships with clients,” said Jones. “I am confident that with Mark’s leadership, Pioneer will work closely with our clients to enhance our partnerships across these channels. I am excited to have Mark as a member of our leadership team,” she added.
Spina joins Pioneer from Voya Investment Management, where he served as Head of Intermediary Distribution since 2008. Prior to that role, Spina was Head of Strategic Marketing and Head of Business Development at Voya (formerly ING US Investment Management), where he worked since 2001.
Erik Gosule has been named Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing and Product Development for the U.S. Division, effective December 15, 2014. He is responsible for developing an integrated marketing platform for Pioneer’s investment solutions across all channels, including intermediary and institutional. He will also lead the U.S. Division’s product development efforts. Erik is a member of the firm’s U.S. Management Committee and reports to Lisa Jones.
“Erik’s breadth of investment experience, ranging from product development and management to marketing and consultant relations, makes him well suited to expand our suite of investment solutions and to better communicate the merits of Pioneer’s capabilities to the marketplace, ” she added. “Pioneer has a broad and compelling global investment platform. While many of our clients are well aware of our capabilities in both traditional and alternative strategies, we are seeking to enhance investors’ awareness of our robust equity, fixed income and multi-asset investment solutions,” said Jones. “Erik will be instrumental in developing a fully integrated marketing and product development platform aligning our investment capabilities with client expectations and needs,” Jones added.
Before joining Pioneer Investments, Gosule was Head of Client and Product Solutions at PanAgora Asset Management, where he was responsible for overseeing strategic and tactical marketing initiatives including product development, and for communicating PanAgora’s investment capabilities through a variety and distribution channels around the world.
Vanguard has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a national municipal bond index fund with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) share class. Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund will be the firm’s first tax-exempt index fund and ETF. Vanguard is one of the largest managers of municipal bond funds in the industry—with about $140 billion in tax-exempt bond and money market funds—and one of the largest ETF providers, with $422.6 billion in assets.
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund’s target benchmark is the S&P® National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index. The fund will offer investors exposure to investment-grade municipal bonds across the entire yield curve. The fund is intended to provide a sustainable level of current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes.
“For investors in high tax brackets, a high-quality, broadly diversified municipal bond fund or ETF can provide tax advantages as well as diversification from the risks of the equity market,” said Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb. “Vanguard is pleased to bring a low-cost index option to the municipal category as a complement to our lineup of low-cost actively managed tax-exempt bond funds.”
The fund, which is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2015, will offer three share classes: Investor Shares, Admiral Shares, and ETF Shares (with estimated expenses ratio of 0.20%, 0.12%, and 0.12%, respectively). The municipal bond funds in Lipper’s General and Insured Municipal Debt Funds category have an average expense ratio of 0.97%; comparable ETFs in the category have an average expense ratio of 0.49%.
Investor Shares will require a minimum initial investment of $3,000 and Admiral Shares will require a minimum initial investment of $10,000. These share classes will also include a 0.50% purchase fee to defray portfolio transaction costs and enable the fund to more closely track its benchmark.
A municipal bond funds pioneer
Vanguard Fixed Income Group is one of the world’s largest fixed income managers, overseeing more than $800 billion, of which $140 billion is invested in tax-exempt bond and money market funds. Vanguard offers 12 actively managed municipal bond funds (five national, seven state-specific) and six tax-exempt money market funds (one national, five state-specific).
Vanguard offered its first three tax-exempt bond funds (short-, intermediate-, and long-term) in 1977. It was the first mutual fund company to offer shareholders a choice among municipal bond funds of differing durations.
Adam Ferguson, a portfolio manager in Vanguard Fixed Income Group, will manage the new fund. Mr. Ferguson joined Vanguard in 2004 and currently manages multiple municipal bond funds.
Vanguard has an experienced municipal team of approximately 40 professionals, including portfolio managers, senior credit research analysts, research associates, and traders. The team’s approach, whether managing money market funds, bond index funds, or actively managed bond funds, is to invest shareholders’ money in a disciplined, risk-controlled manner.
Mirabaud Asset Management welcomes Patrick Huber, who joins the firm as Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for Swiss large cap companies.
Patrick Huber’s appointment is an additional step towards strengthening the management capabilities of an existing team which, thanks to its expertise and good performances, has been able to win numerous mandates and multiple awards. Among other asset classes, in Swiss equities specifically Mirabaud Asset Management currently manages nearly one billion Swiss francs, distributed among various Swiss equity funds and mandates, both on behalf of professional and institutional investors, said the firm in a press release.
With fifteen years’ experience and an unparalleled level of knowledge of Swiss companies, Patrick Huber joins Mirabaud Asset Management from Lombard Odier Investment Managers where he had been responsible for the Swiss equities team. Patrick Huber has a degree in Banking and Finance from the Zurich Higher School of Economics and Administration (HWV) and a Master of Advanced Studies in Corporate Finance from the University of Lucerne (IFZ).
Within Mirabaud Asset Management, Patrick Huber will be responsible for Swiss large cap companies while Matthias Egger remains responsible for small and mid-cap companies. Nicolas Burki will remain in his current role as analyst manager and, along with Patrick Huber and Matthias Egger, will be involved in analysing Swiss companies monitored by the team and in managing a number of mandates.
Lionel Aeschlimann, CEO of Mirabaud Asset Management, announced: «We are delighted to welcome a talented new manager, Patrick Huber, into our Swiss equities team, which represents one of Mirabaud Asset Management’s key strategic focus areas. We firmly believe we have one of the best teams operating in this asset class. Patrick Huber, who shares our values and our active management approach based on strong convictions, will be a major contributor to the quality, strength and sustainability of our client offering.»
Mario Rivero, director de Flexfunds. Flexfunds ETP lanza FlexETP 3, una plataforma de estrategias personalizadas
Flexfunds ETP has announced the introduction of its FlexETP 3 Product Platform with great success in the ETP market. Asset managers are now able to determine a customized solution for their strategies.
This new FlexETP 3 Product Platform enters the market at a time when investors are progressively more involved in products related to provide issuance and custodial services for the investment vehicles.
FlexETP Funds: The Investors participate in investment strategies of public securities. The underlying securities are held in a custody account and are controlled by the Portfolio Manager or by an assigned third party. Products can include any fee and/or payment characteristic, and can be used as a product for multiple investors or to manage a single account.
FlexETP Wrapper: The FlexETP Wrapper provides access to private securities through a feeder-like Euroclearable security. Existing private funds, entities or securities can be accessed directly from an investor’s account, preventing the need to open and administer new accounts and transfers. Private securities acquire instant global distribution, exposure and track record.
FlexETP Private Placement: The FlexETP Private Placement creates a security tied to a loan agreement or debt contract. Products can be designed according to the characteristics of the underlying contract, including distributions and/or interest accrual. The price / NAV is published in the investor’s statement. Through Euroclear, the FlexETP’s securities and payment distributions are distributed into the investor’s account.
“We frequently hear about the need of issuance and custodial services for the investment vehicles”, said Mario Rivero, Director at Flexfunds ETP. “With this new FlexETP product platform, we created one of the most efficient asset management program, FlexETP has many advantages, and it concentrates on price, speed and flexibility”.
Foto: Garfield Anderssen. BNY Mellon completa la compra de Cutwater Asset Management
BNY Mellon today announced the successful acquisition on January 2, 2015, of Cutwater Asset Management (“Cutwater”), a U.S.-based fixed income and solutions specialist with a 20-year track record and approximately $22 billion in assets under management.
Cutwater will now operate as part of BNY Mellon’s $1.6 trillion in assets multi-boutique investment management business. It will work closely with, and be administered by, Insight Investment, a leading European asset manager and one of BNY Mellon’s premier investment firms.
Cutwater’s investment capabilities encompass a wide range of U.S. fixed income strategies including core, long duration, high yield, loans, absolute return and liability risk management. These capabilities will deepen BNY Mellon’s and Insight’s fixed income research and portfolio management expertise in the world’s biggest and most diverse credit market.
BNY Mellon announced its intention to acquire Cutwater from MBIA Inc. on October 6, 2014. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ING Investment Management (ING IM), which will soon rebrand as NN Investment Partners, has announced the appointment of Hiroshi Kimura as CEO of ING IM Japan.
Kimura joins ING from Alliance Bernstein, where he was managing director client relations and communications and member of the board. Kimura replaces Douglas Hymas, who recently joined BNY Mellon as country head Japan.
Commenting on this appointment, Management Board member Martin Nijkamp said: “With Kimura-San, we have appointed a CEO that brings highly sought-after experience and a business development track record to take ING IM Japan to the next level. His breadth of expertise fits well with our strategic ambitions, and his leadership skills will contribute greatly to ING IM’s growth plans in Japan.”
Foto: Americasroof . Morgan Stanley alerta del robo de información de casi un millar de sus clientes de wealth management
Morgan Stanley began advising certain Wealth Management clients that an employee had stolen partial client data. The Wealth Management employee has been terminated, and law enforcement and regulatory authorities have been advised of the incident, said the firm in a statement.
While there is no evidence of any economic loss to any client, it has been determined that certain account information of approximately 900 clients, including account names and numbers, was briefly posted on the Internet. Morgan Stanley detected this exposure and the information was promptly removed.
Overall, partial account information of up to 10 percent of all Wealth Management clients was stolen -350,000 clients were affected, according to Bloomberg. The data stolen does not include account passwords or social security numbers. The Firm is taking the precaution of notifying all potentially affected clients and instituting enhanced security procedures including fraud monitoring on these accounts.
All impacted clients are in the process of being contacted by the Firm and their Financial Advisors. A dedicated information line also has been established at 855-398-6437 (U.S. and Canada) or 512-201-2186 (outside the U.S. and Canada).
“Morgan Stanley takes extremely seriously its responsibility to safeguard client data, and is working with the appropriate authorities to conduct and conclude a thorough investigation of this incident”.
Knowledge@Wharton, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s online research and business analysis journal, in collaboration with The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and Momentum, a leading event organizer, has announced it will host a major conference for senior U.S. executives to gain insight into the legal and business challenges of doing business in Cuba as well as to capitalize on the opportunities of tapping into the island’s market.
The conference, titled the “Cuba Opportunity Summit,” will be held in New York City on April 1. It will cover sectors as diverse as tourism, transportation, technology and the knowledge economy, infrastructure, hospitality, agriculture, food, manufacturing and retail sectors. The event will feature leading Cuban and U.S. business experts and academics from Wharton.
The conference will be co-chaired by Faquiry Diaz Cala, President and CEO, Tres Mares Group Inc., an investment firm based in Miami, Florida, and Mauro F. Guillén, Director of The Lauder Institute, and a professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. According to Prof. Guillen, “Unleashing Cuba’s potential in the global economy is essential to fostering change from all perspectives, and it will hopefully lead to a more integrated Caribbean region.” Added Mr. Diaz Cala, “This conference promises to help participants better understand the opportunities that lie ahead in light of the recent news.”
The Cuba Opportunity Summit is designed to be a unique learning and networking forum for companies looking to leverage the Cuban market to drive growth. It is expected to attract some 200 senior-level executives and decision makers from across a variety of sectors.
Mukul Pandya, Knowledge@Wharton’s editor-in-chief, who will host the conference, noted: “President Obama’s move to normalize relations with Cuba offers an unprecedented opportunity for North American corporations. Many firms will be considering how to gain a first-mover advantage in this emerging market.”
Ben Greenzweig, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Momentum added: “We are excited to again be working with Knowledge@Wharton on this latest and most topical iteration in the High-Velocity Growth series of events crafted specifically for senior level decision makers looking for next stage growth in the Cuban market.”
Presentations will focus on providing education and real-world case studies designed to provide a strategic roadmap for entry into the Cuban market.
In addition to keynote presentations, the summit will feature panels and fireside chats as well as extensive time for Q&A, discussion among participants, and networking opportunities.
The summit is hosted by Knowledge@Wharton in collaboration with The Lauder Institute and Momentum.
More information, including details on how to register, is available at this link.
Foto: ChrisCruises. Los fondos de pensiones: elevando la apuesta por los activos alternativos
Pension funds are restructuring for a new investment climate. They are becoming more hands-on in the way they manage their investment portfolios. This proactive approach extends to all aspects of their operations and governance. New research from State Street reveals key trends that are radically reshaping almost every aspect of how pension funds manage their investments and deliver long-term value to their members. One of these trends is a “Big Bet on Alternatives”.
For pension funds, alternative investments have typically constituted a small part of the portfolio. This is changing. Pension funds are finding that a small allocation to alternatives is not sufficient to generate the required growth. This is forcing many of them to place bigger bets on alternatives.
Private equity emerges as a hot area for investment, with 60 percent of respondents anticipating increased allocations into this asset class. A significant proportion of pension funds also say they will invest more in direct loans (54 percent), real estate (46 percent) and infrastructure (39 percent).
Pension funds are also showing a greater appetite for hedge funds. Globally, 29 percent of pension funds that already invest in hedge funds will increase their allocation, while 25 percent will invest in this asset class for the first time. There have been some high-profile withdrawals from hedge funds in recent times. But our research reveals that many pensions will continue to seek out hedge fund strategies with the potential to deliver upside returns.
More than half of pension funds (53 percent) plan to make greater use of low-cost investment strategies. Many are adopting a “barbell strategy,” to blend the cost efficiencies of passive strategies with higher-growth/ higher-risk asset classes such as alternatives. The shift into alternatives may represent a real test of capabilities, as pension funds seek to manage risk and performance across complex portfolios.
To learn more, you may request the report: “Pension Funds DIY: A Hands-on Future for Asset Owners”, through this link www.statestreet.com/vision/assetowners
