Internacional archivos - Page 368 of 532

Wunderlich Announces Plans to Acquire Assets of Dominick & Dominick

Wunderlich Securities announced a definitive agreement to acquire the wealth management assets of Dominick & Dominick, a privately-held investment firm based in New York City. Upon closing, the combined firm is projected to have nearly 600 associates in 32 offices across 17 states with more than $10 billion in client assets.

“For more than a century, Dominick & Dominick has been a fixture in the financial services industry. The opportunity to join forces with this venerable firm is an ideal fit with our growth objectives,” said Gary Wunderlich, CEO of Wunderlich Securities. “Our firms share a common focus on building long-lasting relationships with our clients and among our colleagues, and we look forward to welcoming the team to our Wunderlich family.”

Dominick & Dominick, founded in 1870, is a historic name on Wall Street and one of the early firms to join the NYSE. The firm is headquartered in New York City and operates branch offices in Miami, Atlanta and Basel, Switzerland.

“We were impressed with the broad array of capabilities and expertise available through Wunderlich,” said Kevin McKay, CEO of Dominick & Dominick. “Our mission has been to provide clients with the best ideas and guidance available and we believe joining Wunderlich expands our ability to do just that.”

Following the acquisition, D&D will operate as Dominick & Dominick, a division of Wunderlich Wealth Management, the firm’s private client group. At that time, Kevin McKay will become general counsel of Wunderlich Securities; Michael J. Campbell, chairman, will join the Wunderlich Securities board of directors; and, Robert X. Reilly, COO, will become regional manager of the New York region and oversee Wealth Management offices in New York City, Great Neck, Miami, Atlanta and Basel.

Following the acquisition, approximately 150 Wunderlich associates will be located in the New York area, which will become the largest concentration in the firm’s footprint. Wunderlich Wealth Management and Equity Capital Markets operations currently located in midtown will move to D&D’s primary office at 150 E. 52^nd Street during 2015. Wunderlich Fixed Income Capital Markets sales and trading operations will remain in the Wunderlich downtown location.

The transaction, expected to close in early 2015, is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc . served as Wunderlich’s exclusive financial advisor in the transaction. Baker Donelson served as counsel.

Global X Funds Appoints Steven Swain President

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Global X Management Company LLC (Global X) has announced the appointment of Steven Swain as President. Mr. Swain concludes a series of recent hires at Global X.

In his new role, Mr. Swain will oversee Global X’s day-to-day operations, leveraging his 20 years of experience launching, growing and managing investment management companies. He will serve on the executive committee, along with CEO Bruno del Ama and Chairman Jose Gonzalez.

Commenting on Mr. Swain’s appointment, Mr. del Ama said: “Steven’s hiring strengthens our leadership team as we continue to grow, expand our product offerings and provide better service to our clients.” Mr. del Ama will continue in his current role of developing innovative products and strategic planning.

Mr. Swain joins from private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners LLC where he served as an Executive Advisor. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at Lyster Watson and Company and Lazard Asset Management. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University, a Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Clark University.

“Global X is on the forefront of the ETF industry’s rapid growth with a reputation for building solutions to help meet its clients’ investment needs. I am honored to join Jose and Bruno during this time of rapid expansion for the firm,” Mr. Swain said.

ING IM Stresses Impact of Human Capital on Long Term Risk Adjusted Returns

| For Fórmate a Fondo | 0 Comentarios

The portfolio managers of ING Investment Management’s (ING IM) EUR 1,5bn Sustainable Equity strategies regard human capital as an important value driver to achieve better long-term risk adjusted returns. Human capital – which encompasses factors such as talent, training, employee satisfaction, working conditions, labor relations and diversity – is probably an organization’s most valuable intangible asset, says Nina Hodzic, Senior ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) specialist at ING IM.

Research suggests that physical and financial accountable assets on a company’s balance sheet traditionally comprise less than 20% of the true value of the average firm. The remaining 80% consists of intangibles such as human capital, stakeholder capital, strategic governance and environment. ING IM’s approach combines financial analysis with a rigorous analysis of the hidden investment risks and value drivers that determine which companies will be long-term winners.

Nina Hodzic comments: “Human capital – especially employee satisfaction – is one of the key drivers of value creation in many sectors. Happy employees are more engaged and loyal. Low turnover means that good employees stay and are more productive. This has, generally speaking, a positive impact on company’s performance long term as it leads to higher expected future cash flows and lower risk. This is supported by an increasing number of academic studies. For example, Edmans [2011] shows that companies that were ranked as best-to-work-for in America produce an alpha of 3.5% annually above the risk-free rate. Best-to-work-for companies exhibit also substantially more positive earnings surprises and stock price reactions than their industry peers.”

Hodzic continues: “As economies in the West move from capital intensive firms – often combined with unskilled labor – to human capital-intensive firms, using high skilled innovative labor, investors will need new methodologies to assess the intellectual and creative strengths of companies and their constituent human capital.”

In order to maintain human capital advantages, ING IM believes that companies should look to increase training and development and build passion and purpose as young people look more and more for “meaningful work” benefiting the broader society. Diversity is also viewed as an increasingly important strength if companies are to understand the needs of those they look to provide services for, the asset manager highlights.

Hodzic points out: “The number of young people classified as NEETs (not in formal education or training) is a huge problem for governments and private sector companies. Universities, governments and companies will have to work together to ensure young people gain access to the training and skills needed to succeed in an increasingly human-capital focused environment and competitive employment market.”

ING IM launched its first Sustainable Equity Strategy in April 2000, making it one of the first global SRI (socially responsible investment) strategies available in Europe.

Schroders Multi-Asset Business Appoints Henriette Bergh as Head of Europe Product and Manager Solutions

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Schroders has announced the appointment of Henriette Bergh in the newly created role of Head of Europe Product and Manager Solutions (excluding the UK). Henriette joins the team this month reporting to Nico Marais, Head of Multi-Asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions. She will have a functional reporting line into Justin Simler, Global Head of Product Management for Multi-Asset.

In her role Henriette will be responsible for the Multi-Asset product management and strategy in Europe. This will involve creating and implementing product strategy, management of the product range in Europe and consultant ratings, product development and client support.

Henriette joins Schroders from Morgan Stanley & Co. International where she was most recently, Head of Sales, Private Wealth Management for EMEA based in London. During her seven years at Morgan Stanley & Co. International she was also Head of Manager Selection Strategies, Private Wealth Management. Prior to this she was Executive Director, Global Manager Strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management International (GSAM). She has an MBA from Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Nico Marais, Head of Multi-Asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions: “Henriette is a key addition to our team. She has eighteen years investment experience advising both institutional and private clients across multiple asset classes and overseeing manager selection strategy teams. Henriette will work alongside our senior fund managers in London and Zurich, to enhance the investment service we provide to our clients”.

Stakes are Rising for Investors in Brazil

| For Fórmate a Fondo | 0 Comentarios

The first round of Brazil’s presidential election is just days away and the stakes are rising for investors. With incumbent President Dilma Rousseff gaining ground on her key rival, business-friendly Marina Silva, global investors have lost much of the confidence originally gained when Silva first burst upon the scene in August following the death of her running mate and original presidential candidate, Eduardo Campos, in an air crash.

Marina Silva has proposed sweeping changes for Brazil, including a cracking down on corruption, tax reform, budget restraint, and promoting productivity gains at notoriously mismanaged state-owned companies. After an initial surge in the polls, Marina Silva has lost ground to Dilma as the President has used all the powers of her office and an enormous structural advantage in allocated media time to close the gap.

Two very divisive candidates

Opinion polls indicate that the first round of the election will result in a second round run-off between these two very popular and clearly divisive candidates. The polls indicate that the outcome of a Dilma-Silva election is too close to call. Investors have overwhelmingly endorsed Marina Silva’s progressive reform agenda and at the same time made it clear that four more years of Dilma spells trouble for Brazil’s sagging economy. What can investors expect after the26 October final vote, and is the recent volatility of the Brazilian financial markets a good indicator of just how good things might be under Silva, or how bad they might get under a renewed Dilma administration?

Lessons from other continents

The recent May 2014 national elections in South Africa and India offer investors insight into post-election returns and positioning. In the case of South Africa, very few investors relished the thought of incumbent President Jacob Zuma’s near certain re-election. He surprised his critics by bringing businessman Cyril Ramaphosa back into government and despite South Africa’s crippling unemployment, high inflation, staggering current account deficit and seemingly endless cycle of labor violence, the stock market has remained relatively resilient.

Well managed companies such as regional mobile telecom and data firm MTN and banking group FirstRand have seen their shares extend their long term outperformance. This could very well be the model for Brazil should President Dilma get re-elected; uncompetitive and mismanaged firms will probably suffer (in South Africa, for example, many mining firms have lost a third of their value since the election) while competitive companies thrive in an ecosystem devoid of real competition.

In India, investors were initially less certain of the outcome of the election between the Congress Party and the BJP but were well aware of India’s substantial macroeconomic challenges in the run-up to the election. In 2013 and into much of 2014, India’s once powerful economy was slowing, business confidence was waning, and the public had become tired of the mismanagement of the economy. Ultimately, the pro-reform BJP party led by Narendra Modi was swept into office, ushering in a substantial bull market in Indian equities.

Despite Modi not having transformed India much in his first 100 plus days in power, business and public confidence remain high. Companies have regained access to international financial markets and foreign investors have flocked back to the stock market. While weak companies have been given a new lease of life, India’s strongest and most competitive companies in technology, pharmaceuticals, and banking have soared. Given the reform agenda of Brazil’s Marina Silva, there can be little doubt that many investors see her as the best chance for Brazil’s financial markets to repeat the recent success of India.

Post-election market fortunes

In South Africa’s case, the wobbling post-election environment has favored the strong well-capitalized companies, which have regional African ambitions. Political and economic matters can best be categorized as ‘muddling through’, although the far left has made dangerous inroads with a potentially ruinous land reform program. The overall market, however, has treaded water in local terms and has underperformed the MSCI World Index by about 8 percent in euro terms, largely as a result of a weaker South African rand.

In India’s case the general election of 12 May 2014 has ushered in a rise of 20 percent in euro terms and India has outperformed the MSCI World Index by over 10 percent in euro terms. Despite early rallies in deeply depressed stocks in distressed sectors such as property and infrastructure, the real winners thus far have proven to be India’s highly competitive and well run companies, such as Tech Mahindra and Tata Motors, which were already doing well before the election.

The bottom line

Ours is an increasingly global economy — whether one is investing in India, South Africa or Brazil, investing in companies whose growth strategy, execution, and balance sheet can help ride out the discomfort of a disagreeable local election is vital. In both South Africa and India, these bottom-up factors have trumped the macro.

Given that Brazil’s election is very close and the two possible outcomes might be South Africa’s 8 percent underperformance or India’s 10 percent outperformance, we would argue that there is limited value in taking positions based on elections. Yet statistically there is arguably a slight advantage to taking a bullish position in Brazil based on this analysis!

Opinion column by Christopher Palmer, Global Head of Emerging Markets, Henderson Global Investors

It’s Time to Play Defense in the European Stock Market: Downside Risks May Outweigh the Upside Potential

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Es el momento de ser defensivos en bolsa europea: los riesgos bajistas podrían superar al potencial alcista — Phil Webster, senior portfolio manager for the European Equities team at Aberdeen AM. Courtesy photo. It’s Time to Play Defense in the European Stock Market: Downside Risks May Outweigh the Upside Potential

Since the crisis of 2008 left valuations at a minimum, it has been highly fertile ground for investing in European equities, and in any case, they have been the trendy asset in portfolios since last January. But the momentum is losing steam due to the high valuations achieved, at least in some names, the disappointing macroeconomic data, the lower than expected profits, some geopolitical risks, such as the conflict in Russia, and the impact of future interest rate hikes in the USA, although these could be offset by the accommodative attitude of the ECB.

Aware that downside risks may outweigh the upside potential, Phil Webster, senior portfolio manager, and Angus Tester, manager and analyst for the European Equities team at Aberdeen AM, opt for caution and consider that this is a favorable time to invest from a defensive position, which they embody in a concentrated portfolio of about 36 names with quality DNA in their European Equity flagship strategy.

“There is still much interest in this asset class, and we are cautiously optimistic about growth in the continent, but valuations are too high in some cases, even generating some bubbles, and profit growth should have to be evidenced in order to justify those numbers”, Webster explained in an interview with Funds Society, adding that the deterioration of expected profits in European companies, something which could continue to happen, hasn’t surprised him.

In this environment, in which investors are also more cautious after years of earnings, both in the bond and in the stock markets, he believes that a good answer might lie in quality assets. “Our fund has done worse than the index in recent months in the absence of more cyclical stocks that have been puffed up in these recent months of generalized increases,” he explains. But now the situation could begin to change and the market could begin to reward higher quality values, the most stable businesses. Now that there is cause for concerns and uncertainties about political issues and geopolitical crisis, among other things, “the time is right for quality assets, the markets do not like uncertainty,” he added. And, in that regard, he believes there will be volatility. A volatility, which, in any case, will give them the opportunity to invest selectively.

Cautious Optimism

They are cautiously optimistic with regard to European macroeconomic conditions, believing that there will be growth, but also problems that have not been solved, and that there are still major challenges ahead that will take time. They explain that this is not an insurmountable problem for investing in the asset class, however, due to the geographical diversification of companies, in fact, in their portfolio, firms have a balanced exposure to different markets, divided between North America (23%), Asia (22%), and Europe (36%, including UK), along with other emerging markets. They explain that, “the portfolio is well balanced in terms of countries, sectors and other factors.” The reason for its concentration, in about 36 positions at present, from more than 50 in the past, is the confidence and conviction that they want to place on their stakes, which they select after a thorough analysis which requires meeting with the companies. The team, consisting of 17 managers who are also analysts, and who manage different strategies of European and British equities for Aberdeen AM, holds 700 such meetings.

The European stock market’s flagship portfolio currently gives greater weight to countries like the United Kingdom or Switzerland (also by the currency effect), but is the result of a fundamental analysis rather than of the country itself. Names such as Linde, Roche, Rolls Royce, Nestle, Unilever, Nordea Bank, and Prudential, appear amongst the top 10 and are selected using criteria such as the fact of having a competitive advantage and the power to set prices, strong balance sheets, a clear business strategy that aims towards growth, a good management team, and a commitment to deliver value to shareholders. According to Tester, a good dividend policy is also a good sign for the evolution of the business.

Positive about Spain, and yet investing little in that country

As far as Spain is concerned, both managers feel positive regarding the last reforms, particularly in contrast to countries like Italy or France, although they warn about the possibility that reforms will slow down due to the general elections, expected for late next year, and the, as yet unresolved, debt problems. But this, “optimism to a certain degree”, is not enough to fill their portfolios with securities from that country, which don’t hold any positions in their European stock strategy, although in the past they had BBVA and names such as Amadeus in some portfolios. In the small caps portfolio, they do bet on names such as Viscofán or Barón de Ley.

Northern Trust Announces Leadership Changes to Global Family Office Group

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Northern Trust has appointed Lesley Hodgson as senior director of its Global Family and Private Investment Offices (GFO) group in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Based in London, Hodgson will manage the client service teams in both London and Guernsey and will also support business development across the region. She will report to Daniel Lindley, managing director of GFO for EMEA.

Hodgson, who joined Northern Trust in 1995, was most recently managing director of Northern Trust’s GFO business in Guernsey where she was responsible for oversight of client servicing and fiduciary and asset administration in the context of Northern Trust’s offshore client offering.

“Lesley has been instrumental in developing our Guernsey business and we are pleased to appoint her to this broader role,” said Lindley. “Through the structuring of her new role we not only maximize efficiencies and best practices across our Guernsey and London offices, but ensure we are well positioned for future growth.”

The GFO group is a boutique practice within Northern Trust’s Wealth Management business. Established over 30 years ago, it provides customised solutions to ultra-high net worth families, their family offices and private investment offices. It currently provides asset servicing, fiduciary, investment advisory and credit services to more than 375 families and their family offices across the globe, with average assets under custody per client in excess of US$850 million.

BNP Paribas Appoints Yann Gérardin as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

BNP Paribas has announced the appointment of Yann Gérardin as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). In this role, he will have responsibility for implementing the 2014-2016 development plan and continuing the process of adapting CIB to its environment.

Currently Head of Global Equities and Commodity Derivatives (GECD), he will take on hisnew role on 1 October 2014, reporting to Alain Papiasse.

Alain Papiasse, Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the BNP Paribas Group, in addition to supporting the development of CIB, will represent the Group General Management in North America, particularly in terms of implementing the remediation plan and new regulatory requirements. With his wealth of experience and knowledge of the region, he will also help reinforce coverage for large clients in order to support BNP Paribas’ North American development plan.

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, said: “In asking Yann Gérardin to take on these new responsibilities, I have full confidence in his managerial capability, which has been ably demonstrated within GECD since these activities were established. He has helped make BNP Paribas GECD a global leader in theequity derivatives industry. I would particularly like to thank Alain Papiasse for the key role he has played in successfully developing BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking since 2009. His commitment will be a major asset in North America, a region of strategic importance to our Group.”

Hitting the Target with Factor-Based Equity Stratgies

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

As greater numbers of institutional investors turn to equity strategies that capture style factors such as volatility, value, momentum or yield, most continue to lack clarity on the factor exposures across their combined equity portfolios, according to new research by Northern Trust Asset Management.

A survey of 139 global institutional investors found that just 18 percent of global investors said they were “very certain” of the actual risk factor exposure across their listed equity portfolios, while 51 percent were only “moderately certain” and 31 percent were either “fairly uncertain” or unaware of their exposures.

Based on the survey results and in-depth analysis of three pension funds in the United Kingdom, Europe and United States, the study finds that institutional investors incorporating a wide range of active and passive equity strategies in their overall portfolio end up with a neutral factor exposure – despite intended tilts to one or more factors – so that portfolios do not always reflect the investors’ goals and objectives.

The study demonstrates how significant allocations to factor-based equity strategies would achieve the investors’ objectives more effectively and includes case studies of four “early adopter” institutions that have successfully implemented factor-based strategies as a guide for others considering the approach.

“Interest in the blurring space between active and passive management continues to grow, as many investors are less concerned with beating a broad market benchmark and more interested in meeting their particular objective,” said Matthew Peron, Managing Director of Global Equity at Northern Trust Asset Management. “While our research identifies some of the challenges to risk factor investing, it also validates our ‘Engineered Equity’ solutions, which aim to capture exposure to specific factors, either individually or in combination, to meet investors’ specific goals. Engineering exposure to certain factors, while engineering out unintended exposures, are both equally critical to achieving objectives.”

Survey: Global Investors on Risk Factors

Seeking to understand how global institutional investors are using factor-based strategies, Northern Trust Asset Management surveyed 139 investors in the United States, Europe, United Kingdom, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Approximately 45 percent had more than US$1 billion in assets under management. Of those surveyed:

51 percent said they employ factor tilt strategies in their listed equity portfolios.
The most widely used risk factors were value (33.9%), quality, size, momentum (each 16.9%) and volatility (13.9%).
Within their listed equity portfolios, across managers, the top investor concern was “overexposure to certain factors/regions,” followed by “absolute volatility” and “unexpected factor bias within the overall combined exposure” and “tracking error versus benchmark.”
To assess overall factor exposure, 57 percent use an internal team, 17 percent use consultants and 6 percent use other resources, while 20 percent either don’t assess or don’t consider it a priority.

“If the key concern is overexposure to a certain factor or region, being able to look across the portfolio to understand how that exposure looks is imperative,” said John Krieg, Managing Director of Institutional Distribution at Northern Trust. “The fact that fewer than one in five respondents felt certain of their factor exposures shows the difficulty of monitoring a large, complex institutional portfolio.”

Qualitative Analysis: 3 Pension Funds

The study includes an in-depth examination of the equity portfolios of three substantial, experienced pension funds in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. The funds had between four and 25 equity portfolios, tracked up to nine equity benchmarks and employed factor-based strategies to reach investment objectives such as value, low volatility or liability matching. However, Northern Trust’s analysis showed the actual factor tilt for each pension fund was neutral.

“What we found was that, regardless of the approach used to define the asset allocation – asset-liability management, core-satellite, tactical or strategic – the portfolios didn’t always reflect the investors’ goals, objective and intended exposures,” Krieg said. “In each case, the analysis showed how the replacement of some active and passive strategies with an Engineered Equity solution like Northern Trust’s Quality Dividend Focus or Quality Value Strategy would have increased the desired exposures.”

Krieg added: “In general, taking an experimental approach to factor-based investing does not produce the desired results. Investors have a greater likelihood of success if they make a substantial commitment to these strategies.”

Learning from Early Adopters

As a road map to implementation of factor-based strategies, the study describes the successful experience of four large institutional funds in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan with combined assets under management of more than US$375 billion. While all four were at different stages of adoption and complexity, the study found three key takeaways that can be applied for any investor:

Taking stock of what is currently in your portfolio before making any future investment decisions is crucial to success.
Failing to base future investment decisions on a strong understanding of your current portfolio can lead to unintended bias or cancel out intended bias.
Using Engineered Equity strategies in your portfolios can provide more risk-efficient and cost-effective outcomes while still achieving your performance goals.

“For all four successful investors, understanding their current portfolios was an essential first step to making investment decisions that achieved their intended exposures while avoiding unintended bias,” Peron said. “Our analysis showed that to realize noticeable results, you need to make a deliberate and substantial commitment to Engineered Equity strategies.”

The white paper, entitled Through the Looking Glass: Portfolio Truths. Factor Solutions, is the latest in a series, “The Equity Imperative,” that has previously established the trend toward equity strategies that aim to meet specific investment objectives beyond broad market exposure. In addition to industry surveys, The Equity Imperative series includes research examining the principles underpinning Engineered Equity at Northern Trust Asset Management. The research series and related information can be found at this link.

Liontrust Expands International Distribution with an Office in Luxembourg

| For Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Liontrust Asset Management has recruited James Beddall to work alongside Jonathan Hughes-Morgan as co-head of International Sales. Liontrust is in the process of setting up a Branch Office in Luxembourg, where James Beddall is based, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals.

James Beddall joins Jonathan Hughes-Morgan in selling Liontrust’s Dublin range of funds through global banks, private banks, multi-managers and institutional investors internationally, with the primary focus being on Continental Europe. He will market the funds in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Benelux and Nordic regions. Jonathan Harbottle, Head of Institutional Sales, will retain responsibility for some clients in continental Europe.

James Beddall, who has 17 years of experience in international sales, has joined Liontrust from F&C Investments where he was Head of International Wholesale Sales. He moved to Thames River Capital in 2007, which was then acquired by F&C in September 2010.

Prior to Thames River, James Beddall was Vice President and Director (from January 2003) of Credit Suisse Asset Management from 2000 to 2007. He joined CSAM to set up the fund sales and distribution in the Benelux region and later on took on responsibility for France, Spain, the UK, the Nordic region and Eastern Europe.

“I am excited about the challenge and opportunity of helping to grow international sales at Liontrust,” says James Beddall. “I was keen to join an asset management business with the desire and potential to grow significantly its international business.

“Liontrust has a strong range of funds and fund managers and we believe there will be demand for the Global Credit and Asia Income teams in particular. I am also looking forward to working again with Jonathan.”

John Ions, Chief Executive of Liontrust, says: “Expanding our sales effort in Continental Europe is the logical next step after the very strong growth in AuM we have generated in the UK over the past four years.

“With the recruitment of James, we have put together a very strong sales team to market our funds internationally. We are also actively looking for more fund management teams that will appeal to the Wholesale market in Continental Europe.”