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The Principal Financial Group Names Daniel J. Houston President & COO

The Principal Financial Group has announced the Board of Directors has elected Daniel J. Houston president and chief operating officer effective immediately. Houston will oversee all global businesses including Principal Global Investors, Principal International, Retirement and Investor Services, and U.S. Insurance Solutions. In addition, Houston was elected to the Board of Directors. Larry D. Zimpleman continues as chairman and chief executive officer. Zimpleman will continue to oversee the company growth strategy, capital management and deployment, and corporate functions.

“The Principal has seen strong growth since the financial crisis due to our global investment management strategy, solid execution and great people. Dan has played an integral role in shaping and executing that strategy,” Zimpleman said. “He brings excellent operational expertise and global awareness along with deep talent leadership skills. In Dan’s 30-year career at The Principal, he has been on the ground in the field, managed numerous businesses, and helped lead the transformation of The Principal to a global investment management leader, all which will give him a clear view of where we’ve been and where this organization will go in the future.”

Houston joined the company in 1984 as a sales representative in the Dallas group and pension office. From there, he held a number of management positions in the company. He was named executive vice president in 2006, president of retirement and investor services in 2008, and president of retirement, insurance and financial services in 2009. A native of Iowa and raised in Houston, Texas, Houston received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1984. He is active on a number of boards including the Partnership for a Healthier America, Employee Benefits Research Institute, America’s Health Insurance Plans, United Way of Central Iowa, Mercy Medical Center and the Iowa State University Business School Dean’s Advisory Council.

Zimpleman joined the company in 1971 as an actuarial student and became a full-time actuary in 1973. From there, he rose to a number of management and leadership positions. He was named senior vice president in 1999, executive vice president in 2001, president of Retirement and Investor services in 2003, president and COO in 2006, president and CEO in 2008, and became chairman of the board in 2009.

Fitch Affirms J. Safra Asset Management Ltda.’s Rating at ‘Highest Standards’

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Fitch Ratings has affirmed the International Scale Asset Manager Rating at ‘Highest Standards’ for J. Safra Asset Management Ltda. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

The ‘Highest Standards’ rating for J. Safra Asset reflects Fitch’s view that the company’s investment platform and operating framework are superior relative to the standards applied by international institutional investors.

The rating affirmation of J. Safra Asset reflects its well-formalized and consistent practices for investment process, risk controls and compliance, in addition to its robust and segregated structures for fiduciary administration and custody, in line with the best practices in the market. The rating also benefits from the solid franchise of the parent, Banco Safra S.A. (Banco Safra; Issuer Default Rating [IDR] ‘BBB’/Outlook Stable), the fifth largest private financial conglomerate in Brazil, from the company’s continuous investments in technology, satisfactory distribution channels and corporate structure of the group.

J. Safra Asset’s rating applies to its Brazilian domiciled investment activities and does not include offshore, private banking, wealth management, fund of funds, real estate funds, fiduciary administration and custody operations. Those areas have their own processes and policies, which are segregated from the traditional fund management.

Fitch believes that J. Safra Asset’s main challenges are: to increase its participation in higher value added funds, in the face of stronger competition; to keep a competitive edge using a lean investment personnel structure and to sustain a consistent performance mainly in the multimarket funds class.

The ‘Highest Standards’ rating is based on the following assessments:

Company: Highest

Controls: Highest

Investments: Highest

Operations: Highest

Technology: High

Hermes Boosts its Emerging Markets Team with LatAm Senior Hire

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Hermes Investment Management has announced that Oliver Leyland, CFA, is joining its London-based emerging markets investment team as Head of Latin America and Senior Analyst.

Oliver joins from Mirae Asset Global Investments, where he was a Senior Equity Analyst based in New York covering Latin America and CEEMEA, as well as a member of the fund management team for GEM and global long-only equity products. Prior to this, Oliver had spent five years living in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was an Equity Analyst covering Latin America for Mirae. Further to this, Oliver previously worked at Citi in London as an Equity Analyst on its Pan-European Building and Construction team.

Reporting into Gary Greenberg, Head of Hermes Emerging Markets and Lead Portfolio Manager, the addition of Oliver brings the emerging markets team to nine and reinforces Hermes’ commitment to a responsible, disciplined and long-term approach to investing.

Gary Greenberg, Head of Hermes Emerging Markets and Lead Portfolio Manager, said: “Oliver joins our growing team with a wealth of Latin American experience at an interesting and critical time in the region’s development. His seven-plus years of experience covering Latin America, including his time in Brazil, will be invaluable as we continue to seek opportunities for investors in the region.”

The Hermes Emerging Markets portfolio was launched in 1993, giving it a respected track-record of over 20 years. The team’s approach combines top-down and bottom-up analysis to find quality companies trading at attractive valuations, in countries with conditions that are supportive to growth.

Mexico Confirms its Incorporation into MILA, which Will Be Implemented in January 2015

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México concreta su entrada al MILA, que se materializará en enero de 2015 — Photo: Mardetanha. Mexico Confirms its Incorporation into MILA, which Will Be Implemented in January 2015

The Mexican Stock Exchange reported last Monday that in reference to the relevant event released on June 19^th this year in relation to the incorporation of the Mexican stock market into the Integrated Latin American Market (MILA), bilateral integration agreements have been signed between the BMV and the Colombia Stock Exchange, the Lima Stock Exchange, and the Santiago Commodities Exchange. Additionally, “Indeval Institución para el Depósito de Valores” (Indeval Institution for the Deposit of Securities) a subsidiary of the BMV, S.D., has signed account opening agreements and servicing deposits with Colombia, Peru and Chile.

The start of trading in securities as part of MILA will be carried out once the conditions laid down in the Internal Regulations and Operating Manual of the BMV and SD Indeval are met.

The first operation of the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) in the Integrated Latin American Market (MILA) will begin as from January 2015.

After confirming that operational exchanges can be made “in each and every way” between the four stock exchanges, and their functionality is confirmed, the Lima Stock Exchange, the Colombia Stock Exchange, the Santiago Commodities Exchange and the BMV shall agree on the “starting signal”.

“The market capitalization of the three MILA plazas is 602 billion dollars and that of Mexico is 527 billion dollars. The combined value of the four exceeds 1.1 trillion dollars, which is very close to that of Bovespa “.

Some brokerage firms in Mexico have attended the integration of the BMV into MILA, in order to approach the stock exchanges and intermediaries in these countries.

The meeting which was called “Brokers’ Meeting” in the stock markets of each nation, was held in order to consolidate alliances for routing orders through correspondent agreements and training by the stock exchanges.

The brokerage firms who participated in Mexico were GBM, Interactions, Credit Suisse, Deutsche, and Valmex.

During these various sessions, representatives of BMV Group presented the Mexican market structure, statistics, pattern and settlement systems and custodians.

New Governance for BNP Paribas’ Corporate and Institutional Banking Division

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BNP Paribas has announced a new governance for its Corporate and Institutional Banking division, previously called Corporate and Investment Banking. This new CIB is centred on two client franchises, corporates and institutionals.

To best serve institutional clients with a comprehensive range of solutions, BNP Paribas Securities Services comes under the governance of the new CIB, while remaining a separate legal entity. This new CIB also aims to promote dialogue between institutional and corporate clients, thanks to a more collaborative and efficient structure, which will facilitate the implementation of the Group’s business development plan.

In addition, to simplify the regional approach, the North and Latin America regions, and the Europe and MEA regions, will be combined to create two larger regions: Americas and EMEA. The APAC region remains unchanged.

In EMEA a simpler organisation for seamless service for corporate clients will be structured around: Corporate Clients Financing and Advisory EMEA on one side, and Country Management and Corporate Trade and Treasury Solutions EMEA, on the other side.

BNP Paribas CIB is a provider of financial solutions to corporate and institutional clients worldwide and this new governance will strengthen its existing strong franchises in Transaction Banking, Specialised Financing, Derivatives, Advisory and Capital Markets where it is a top European house in ECM and a global leader in DCM.

Institutional clients globally: a collaborative approach to increase depth of service

In order to provide to our institutional clients a wider access to the best of BNP Paribas CIB’s products and services, and to position the Bank as their strategic partner, the solutions provided by BNP Paribas CIB will now be structured around:

A newly created Global Markets which will provide an offer across all asset classes, building on global business lines, financing and prime services capabilities, and regional franchises. A solid presence in the regions will be key to support BNP Paribas CIB’s regional development plans.
BNP Paribas Securities Services will continue offering its current spectrum of solutions and will remain a separate legal entity, with its own commercial and operational autonomy.
Financial Institutions Coverage will offer global coverage for all CIB and other Group businesses across all institutional client segments.

Corporate clients in EMEA: a simpler governance for seamless service

For its corporate clients, BNP Paribas CIB offers facilitated relations and the benefit of its entire range of solutions: a well-established geographic presence and local expertise; the know-how of its coverage bankers and product experts; a robust, industrialised flow banking platform.

In line with the creation of the EMEA region, the activities dedicated to the corporate clientele are grouped into two business lines:

Corporate Clients Financing and Advisory EMEA will bring all of BNP Paribas CIB’s expertise to address the investment and financing needs of CIB’s corporate clients. This business line will group all types of Coverage, the Financing businesses and Corporate Finance.

Country Management and Corporate Trade and Treasury Solutions EMEA will deliver a transversal and industrialised platform for our corporate clients’ flow banking needs. This group will include Energy and Commodities Finance Europe, Trade and Banking Flow, Cash Management, Corporate Deposit Line, Trade and Deposit Product Development.

Yann Gérardin, head of BNP Paribas CIB, stated: “The banking industry has changed dramatically, and not only in terms of regulations. Business models are being industrialised, rationalised, digitalised. Clients are expecting us to serve them holistically with added-value and industrialised solutions. Our new CIB focusing on our two client franchises of corporates and institutionals will allow us to meet their expectations more simply and more efficiently. And it will also reinforce our capacity to achieve our development plans as announced earlier this year.”

To support this strategic initiative, BNP Paribas announces the following appointments (effective 5 January 2015):

In addition to his current responsibilities, Jean-Yves Fillion is appointed head of the Americas for CIB.

Thomas Mennicken is appointed Head of Corporate Clients Financing and Advisory EMEA, under the supervision of Thierry Varène, appointed Chairman of Corporate Clients Financing and Advisory EMEA. Thierry Varène will maintain the steering responsibility of the commercial activities for the largest clients. Thomas Mennicken will maintain his current responsibilities at BNP Paribas Fortis CIB. Reporting to Thomas Mennicken are: Yannick Jung who is appointed Head of Corporate Coverage EMEA  Bruno Tassart who is appointed Head of Financing Solutions EMEA Sophie Javary who is appointed Head of Corporate Finance EMEA

Marc Carlos is appointed Head of Country Management and Corporate Trade and Treasury Solutions EMEA. Marc Carlos will maintain his responsibility, at Group level, as head of the global USD clearing and payment business line. Thierry Varène and Marc Carlos in his EMEA role will report to Yann Gérardin while Thomas Mennicken will report to Thierry Varène.

Henri Foch is appointed Head of Financial Institutions Coverage globally and will report to Yann Gérardin.

Patrick Colle continues as Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas Securities Services and will report to Yann Gérardin. Jacques d’Estais remains Chairman of the supervisory board of BNP Paribas Securities Services.

Yann Gérardin, in addition to his role as Head of BNP Paribas CIB, will manage directly Global Markets. Reporting to him are:  Olivier Osty appointed Head of Sales, Structuring and Trading; Capital Markets business line heads will report to Olivier Osty.

In the regions, Pascal Fischer is appointed Head of EMEA Capital Markets; he will coordinate the Global Markets geographies and manage key transversal projects; he reports to Yann Gérardin. Also, Pierre Rousseau is appointed Head of APAC Capital Markets and reports to Yann Gérardin and Eric Raynaud. Bob Hawley is appointed Head of Americas Capital Markets and reports to Yann Gérardin and Jean-Yves Fillion.

In the context of BNP Paribas setting up Global Markets, headed directly by Yann Gérardin, new Head of CIB, it was agreed with Frédéric Janbon that he would be appointed Special Advisor to the Group General Management. Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, commented: “I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Frédéric for his contribution to the development of our global Fixed Income platform over the past nine years.”

FINRA Announces New Public Board Members

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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has named two new Public Governors—Joshua S. Levine and Robert W. Scully—to its Board of Governors.

Mr. Levine is a recognized leader in financial services technology. Earlier in his career, Mr. Levine served as Chief Technology and Operations Officer at E*TRADE, where he led an effort to re-architect their technologies by moving to open source. He also serves on the board of a number of non-profits, including DonorsChoose.org, which connects philanthropy and public education through technology, and NPower, which helps non-profits with affordable IT services. Mr. Levine is currently a Managing Director of Kita Capital Management.

Mr. Scully serves as an Independent Director on several boards, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. and Zoetis Inc. Mr. Scully also serves as a Director of Ally Credit Canada Limited and New York City Teach for America, Inc. Mr. Scully served in several senior positions at Morgan Stanley from 1996 through 2007. Mr. Scully received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.

In August, FINRA announced that Elisse B. Walter, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Susan Wolburgh Jenah, former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) had been named to FINRA’s Board as Public Governors. Ms. Walter was sworn in as a Commissioner of the SEC in July 2008. She was later designated the 30th Chairman of the SEC, and she served as the SEC’s leader from December 2012 to April 2013. Ms. Wolburg Jenah recently retired as President and CEO of IIROC, a position she had held since the regulator was established in June of 2008.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Josh and Bob. Their valuable expertise and depth of experience will help FINRA move forward in its mission to ensure the integrity of our markets and protect the investing public. With today’s announcement, as well as the recent appointment of Elisse Walter and Susan Wolburgh Jenah, FINRA’s Board has an outstanding new group of Public Governors dedicated to advancing FINRA’s mission,” said Richard Ketchum, FINRA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

FINRA is overseen by a 24-person Board of Governors, with 13 seats held by public Governors and 10 by industry Governors. FINRA’s CEO has the remaining seat. FINRA Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms.

Deutsche AWM Launches Actively-Managed Mutual Fund for European Equities

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Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management has announced he launch of the Deutsche European Equity Fund in the U.S. The Fund is an open-end mutual fund that seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in companies headquartered in Europe across a range of countries, sectors and capitalizations.

“Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management is uniquely positioned to help investors capitalize on opportunities stemming from ongoing structural adjustments in the Eurozone,” said Jerry Miller, Head of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management in the Americas. “With the launch of the Deutsche European Equity Fund, we are offering our global perspective and expansive regional expertise to US investors seeking European equity exposure.”

The Fund utilizes an active bottom-up investment approach which focuses on European companies with above-average earnings potential. The Fund management team is well resourced, comprised of over 30 dedicated portfolio managers with an average of 13 years of investment experience in all major European market segments. The portfolio management team is led by Britta Weidenbach, Gerd Kirsten, Mark Schumann and Christian Reuter.

“We are excited to bring to the US market a unique product that leverages our fundamental research and unparalleled investment experience in the European equity space,” said Britta Weidenbach, Head of Large Cap Equities for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.

“This addition to our mutual fund suite is yet another way Deutsche AWM is providing investors with significant investment opportunities in companies with strong balance sheets, durable business models and prudent management.”

Wells Fargo Launches ‘Wells Fargo Investment Institute’

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Wells Fargo’s Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement (WBR) division has announced the launch of Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII). WFII brings together the investment research, strategy, manager research and publications teams from WBR’s four lines of business to create a single group with a goal of providing world-class advice to the company’s financial and wealth advisors and clients.

WFII’s team of experienced analysts and strategists will seek to provide superior economic and market research and advice to help its advisors deepen client relationships and better achieve clients’ investment goals.

“WFII structures our investment team to deliver our best thinking, our best ideas and our best solutions for the benefit of our clients,” said David Carroll, head of Wells Fargo WBR. “Wells Fargo has a long history of putting clients’ needs first; this is one more way we will continue to do that.”

WFII will initially be comprised of the manager research, alternative investments and national investment strategy teams that were previously part of Abbot Downing (which serves ultra-high-net-worth clients), Institutional Retirement and Trust, Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo Private Bank.

The company has named Darrell Cronk WBR’s chief investment officer and president of WFII. The WBR CIO was previously held by Dean Junkans, who is retiring at the end of this year. Prior to his promotion, Cronk served as deputy chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

“Darrell has been a valued member of our investment team for more than two decades,” Carroll said. “He brings a well-rounded understanding of the investment business and a thoughtful approach to management. I’m confident in his ability to excel in this new role, and I’m excited about the launch of Wells Fargo Investment Institute and the value it will bring to our clients.”

Cronk has held a number of investment leadership positions with The Private Bank, including regional chief investment officer, senior director of investments, regional investment manager, portfolio manager and financial advisor across a number of regions within Wells Fargo. Cronk received a master’s degree in finance from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Iowa State University. He was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation in 1997.

“WFII brings together a tremendous amount of investment expertise, talent and experience,” said Cronk. “I’m excited to lead this new group and enhance our efforts to deliver a consistent experience — and our best solutions — to our clients.”

Samba Slowdown as Brazil Loses its Rhythm

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In October, Brazilians rejected economic reform by re-electing Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party (PT) as president. Following this, the Hermes Emerging Markets team visited the country to assess the economic outlook. In the November issue of Gemologist, Gary Greenberg Head of Hermes Emerging Markets and Lead Portfolio Manager, watches the last samba dancers leave the floor and asks whether Brazil’s lucky streak has run out.

“Brazil’s recent presidential elections represented a clear choice between reform and regression, and voters chose regression. Not that many voters, actually: of those who voted, 51% voted for the incumbent Dilma Rousseff and 49% for Aecio Neves, the reform candidate; 40%, however, didn’t vote at all. Measured by regional GDP, voters in regions representing a mere 20% of Brazil’s GDP voted for the PT candidate Rousseff.

“Over the past thirty years, opportunities to shore up the economy were squandered as few Brazilians paid attention to the nation’s manufacturing base. High growth in wages and therefore benefits, a strong currency, and a lack of infrastructure development steadily eroded the country’s competitiveness. Manufacturing quietly decamped to Asia, where wages were low and benefits nonexistent. At first this seemed like a good thing: the infrastructure that Brazil should have been building was being developed by China, which imported unprecedented amounts of commodities. Iron ore rose from $30 a ton to, at one point, over $150 a ton. Brazil’s terms of trade rocketed…and then Chinese demand peaked out.

“And now, with commodity prices falling (though still higher than a decade ago), Brazil has a problem. Labour costs on the coast are high and benefits remain awesome, so manufacturers need to cut costs in order to be globally competitive. Relocation to low-cost areas, following the Chinese initiative to relocate manufacturing to the interior, is mandatory. But infrastructure is expensive now, since commodity costs have reset so much higher due to China’s rise. And because of droughts (as well as Chinese demand), energy costs are also much higher compared to a decade ago. Energy independence, apparently within sight when the ‘Lula’ oil deposit was discovered, remains a distant prospect.

“Brazil finds itself between a rock and a hard place. The economically illiterate majority of voters have chosen to continue to back handouts, although they are unaffordable in the long run. As the ruble’s recent skydive demonstrates, politics cannot remain divorced from the laws of economics for long. The sobering task of austerity, creating a pool of savings to fund a revival of competitiveness and to find a niche in value-added services and production (as opposed to commodity exports), was even going to be difficult for the reformist candidate Neves.

“At the end of November, Rousseff appointed Joaquim Levy, a hard-core orthodox economist from the Chicago School and former treasury secretary under Lula, as finance minister. Levy is a disciplined economist who should help Brazil avoid the otherwise imminent loss of its investment-grade rating on sovereign debt and, if he survives in his new role, could make the hard decisions needed to rebuild public finances. On November 21, when unconfirmed reports of his appointment broke, the Ibovespa rose 5% while the real strengthened 2.3% against the dollar. His long term survival however is not guaranteed.

“Even if Brazil’s party dies out completely, all is not lost. State-owned enterprises, constituting a large part of the benchmark, may languish, but private companies have been dealing with adverse conditions for decades and have the tools to cope. For example, Itaú Unibanco, one of Brazil’s largest and best-run private banks, has ‘de-marketed’ risky borrowers and is focusing on low-risk, high-return payroll lending.

“The politics look dark right now but the winds can shift – and Brazil is home to a few excellent companies. The samba can resume, but only after a lot of hard work. Its return will be found by listening for the faint but vibrant rhythms of commerce in the ruas of Brazil’s cities and favelas.”

Traditional Institutional Asset Management Industry Sees Net US$22.7bn Inflows in Third Quarter

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Coming back from $80 billion in outflows in the second quarter of this year, the global traditional institutional asset management industry saw net inflows of $22.7 billion in the third quarter of 2014, according to eVestment’s newest report covering global asset flows in the traditional, long-only institutional investor asset management industry.

International equity gained traction with investors resulting in inflows of $11.5 billion into EAFE and ACWI ex-U.S. strategies. U.S. equities continued to see significant redemptions in Q3, with net outflows totaling $36.7 billion. U.S. bonds reported outflows of $20.4 billion in Q3 despite inflows of $14 billion into U.S. core plus fixed income.

eVestment’s new quarterly Traditional Asset Flows Report highlights the flow of institutional funds invested in traditional, long-only investments across regions and countries, investment types, universes and products.

A few key points highlighting activity among various investor types include:

Africa/Middle East domiciled investors were net buyers in Q3 2014, with net inflows totaling $3.6 billion;
Australian investors saw net outflows of $5.2 billion in Q3, down from the $6.9 billion in outflows Australian investors saw in Q2;
Corporate pensions had net inflows of $12 billion in Q3, favoring emerging markets debt ($1.5 billion net inflows) and emerging markets equity ($4.2 billion net inflows);
Sovereign wealth funds were net sellers in Q3 2014, with outflows of $7.1 billion, following inflows of $8.6 billion in Q2.

The summary report can be downloaded here.