Wikimedia CommonsBestinver’s XII Annual Investors Conference. Bestinver’s XII Annual Investors Conference: crisis-proof mutual funds
The Spanish boutique Bestinver held this evening its annual investors’ reunion in Madrid. Francisco Garcia Paramés, Alvaro Guzman de Lázaro and Fernando Bernad Marrase exposed, in front of an audience that exceeded 2000 people, the main keys to its domestic and international strategies.
Both strategies closed an exceptional 2012, outperforming index in 5 percentage points in the international fund, and a spectacular 15% in the domestic fund. It would seem as if Bestinver’s funds are not being affected at all by any crisis, regardless of where it comes from.
“We like the companies that have family members in their management team, it is fundamental to us”
This year the domestic portfolio -Bestinver Bolsa– turned 20 years – and the international strategy –Bestinver Internacional– turned 15. The asset manager has €6.5 billion in AuM (data as from the end of March, 2013) in all its strategies with quite a stable environment of inflows and outflows. Bestinver has ensured that there is no predetermined limit for the size of their funds, and they are not planning on closing the fund regardless of the inflows.
Bestinver’s managers exposed that the domestic portfolio has lowered its country risk, increasing its cash position and reducing the exposure to companies as Repsol, utilities or Pescanova, a position that Bestinver has reduced by 60% -from a 4% weight in the fund to 1.5% a the end of February- emphasizing that “they wish they had been able to unload the position even more”. Pescanova, that filed for pre-bankruptcy on February 28, and has been suspended of trading in the Spanish Stock Exchange since March 12th , is an example of the turn from more cyclical companies to more defensive ones that Bestinver has carried out in its portfolio since 2008. “Usually, we avoid commodity-related companies or companies that have a lot of debt”, explained the managers, who invest searching for high quality companies.
True to its value strategy, the portfolio of the international strategy has an estimated PE of 8.7x in 2013, which compares to a PE of 12.5x for the S&P500 Index. Another characteristic of Bestinver’s management style is its trust in the family run companies. “We like the companies that have family members in their management team, it is fundamental to us”, they state.
In regards to the Spanish real estate sector, Bestinver’s managers say that “they are not looking in that direction”, although on a personal note they do admit that the sector has been improving, and that in fact all three of them are taking their some steps on the housing market.
Yesterday, the Colombian government announced a package of measures to “boost productivity and employment” and enable “all the sectors of the economy to receive the benefits of economic growth.” Specifically, the government has been worried about the weakness of the non-mining tradable sectors, agriculture and manufacturing, says Luka Barbosa, economist of Itaú.
“Despite the high expectations created before the announcement, we expect the measures to have a limited impact on the economy in the medium to long term. In the foreign exchange market, no effective measures were announced. Finance Minister Cárdenas only said that the government will give incentives for pension fund managers to invest more abroad, by valuing their performance taking into account diversification and risk management instead of just returns.The impact will depend on the willingness of fund managers to really invest their assets abroad”.
Fiscal and credit incentives for the agricultural, industrial, housing and construction sectors may have a short-term impact on growth, especially in construction through housing and public works. But, in general terms, none of the measures aims to tackle the country’s long-term structural issues.
FX Measures
The government believes that the main issue hindering agricultural and manufacturing growth is the appreciated foreign exchange rate. To that end, the finance ministry announced that it will provide incentives for pension fund managers to invest more abroad. The performance of pension funds will start to be valued taking into account diversification and risk management, instead of only returns.
The government expects that the changes may increase the share of overseas pension fund investments from 6% to 11%, boosting demand for dollars by USD 4 billion. In countries such as Chile and Peru, pension fund managers invest more than 30% of their assets abroad, according to Finance Minister Cárdenas. The changes add to the current program of international reserve accumulations.
Additionally, a royalties fund controlled by the government called FONPET will buy 1 billion dollars of assets overseas. The measures combined would increase demand for dollars by USD 5 billion, according to the government. Of course, the bulk of the amount depends on the willingness of pension fund managers to really diversify, investing more overseas. We expect no major impact on the FX rate.
Fiscal Measures
The most significant measure announced is a reduction in mortgage rates charged by banks. According to the government, the interest rate on housing loans for the middle class will fall from 12.5% to 7.0%, with 2.5% of the decrease being subsidized by the government and the rest by the banking sector.
The government has been urging banks to lower rates in the past months, arguing that the banking sector has not passed on the policy rate cuts to their lending rates, thus not helping the economic recovery. Less than one year ago, authorities were worried about too-fast consumer credit growth and increasing leverage among consumers, and so they acted with macroprudential measures to stem credit expansion, continues Barbosa.
Also, the government anticipated in two months the reduction of non-wage labor costs for companies approved by the end of 2012 in order to “stimulate a rapid creation of formal employment.” The measure reduces labor costs by 5%. In addition, the government announced that the mining sector will pay a higher withholding tax than the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, which “helps the cash flow” of the latter sectors.
Tax incentives for the industrial and agricultural sectors were announced. Taxes on imported capital goods and raw materials will remain at 0% until August 2015. Taxes on electricity for the industrial sector were reduced. Specific fiscal expenditures to improve the development of the agricultural sector will also take place.
The finance ministry will also speed up the construction of roads and invest in the quality of transportation. The government said that it is working on laws that improve the efficiency of infrastructure projects.
The fiscal measures will cost the government USD 2.8 billion. Cárdenas argued that the stimulus doesn’t jeopardize the anti-cyclical fiscal framework because the fiscal cost will be spread out over several years.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Jim G from Silicon Valley, CA. Oracle Paradise Wine Fund, un nuevo fondo de vinos que se diversifica en cognacs y whiskies
Oracle Capital Group, a global independent multi-family office and wealth consultancy, has launched the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund as a new alternative asset investment opportunity. In an additional benefit for investors, the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund has added a new share class to its classic wines – rare cognacs and whiskies. This allows for much wider diversification than other wine funds.
The fund invests in world-class Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and rare collector’s wines such as early vintage port, 18th and 19th century Madeira and Imperial-era Tokaji. However, it is the inclusion of cognacs, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, and pre-1940 whiskies, that distinguishes the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund from its competitors.
In one notable recent purchase, the fund recently acquired bottles of Cognac Clos de Griffier 1789 from the cellars of the famous La Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris.
According to David Nathan-Maister, Director of the fund and a former wine producer and expert on spirits, the opportunity the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund offers for investment in rare spirits, as well as fine wines, gives protection from flat markets and capital losses.
“Rare, old spirits are currently undervalued in comparison with fine wines, having largely missed out on the wine investment boom of the last 15 years. They are set for significant increases in market value over the next five to ten years.
“Our goal is to generate above-inflation returns through highly-informed purchases, access to first-buyer pricing from the very top chateaux and active trading of the rare spirits portion of the fund in particular. By actively trading, we aim to generate trading profits even in an overall environment where the wine market may be flat or even trending downwards.”
The wines, which also include other classic French wine regions such as Rhone and Champagne as well as some world-class wines from Italy and Spain, are stored in London City Bond’s Vinoteque and sold through public auctions and to wealthy individuals.
The Oracle Paradis Wine Fund is traded via Liv-ex, against which the fund’s quarterly reports and valuations are benchmarked. Minimum investment in the fund is $100,000 and it is managed by an investment team made up of industry experts and financial specialists.
About the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund Investment Team
David Nathan-Maister is a vineyard and distillery owner, and has particular experience in trading fine wines in the BRICS market. He is a recognised expert in the field of spirits and highly-regarded internationally as an author and historian on the subject. Pierre Beuchet is the founder of the wine distribution business DIVA Group, specialising in fine wines world-wide. He has strong personal relationships with many leading Chateaux owners.Dave Hughes is an international wine and spirits judge and writer, with 50 years’ experience in the trade. He has written or co-authored dozens of books on wines and spirits.
Wikimedia CommonsNew Image of ING US, now as Voya Financial . ING U.S Announces Expected Price Range for Proposed Initial Public Offering
ING U.S announced tuesday that it has filed an amended Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its proposed initial public offering (IPO).
The proposed IPO will consist of both a primary component offered by ING U.S. and a secondary component offered by Netherlands-based ING Group at a currently estimated price range of $21.00 to $24.00 per share for a maximum of 64,166,667 shares of common stock offered, excluding an overallotment option ING Group has granted the underwriters. Based on this price range, the total offering is expected to be approximately $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion in size, including $600 million in primary proceeds for ING U.S., and will reduce ING Group’s ownership in ING U.S. to 75 percent immediately following the IPO.
ING U.S.’s amended Registration Statement also includes preliminary qualitative statements on its first quarter financial results.
ING U.S. has been approved to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, under the symbol “VOYA,” which reflects the new brand name of Voya Financial that ING U.S. recently announced it will transition to beginning in 2014.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are acting as joint global coordinators for the offering. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.
Wikimedia Commons. El equipo de Inversión de MFS se moviliza para ayudar a familias de bajos recursos de Boston
A team of MFS volunteers recently took part in a group build day with Habitat for Humanity. At a construction site in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, more than 85 employees from MFS’ Equity, Fixed Income and Quantitative Solutions investment groups used paint brushes and power tools to help bring a set of townhouse units closer to completion. Once complete, the homes will be occupied by local families needing decent and affordable housing.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Sparkx 11. La escasez de talento es la mayor amenaza para el crecimiento del sector financiero, según PwC
Research from PwC has found that FS CEOs view talent shortages as the biggest threat to growth. The report, Seizing back the people agenda, also suggests that current models for people management are unsustainable in the face of new market realities and that rebuilding trust and re-engagement with employees and customers is needed.
Findings include:
A combination of technology, new capital demands and the economic situation are transforming customer expectations and making once-profitable areas of business unviable.
More than 80 percent of financial services leaders see over-regulation as a threat to growth while more than half are concerned about the shift in customer spending and behavior.
Half of financial services CEOs believe that a lack of trust in the industry is holding back growth.
Rebuilding trust with disenchanted customers is going to be vital in order to strengthen customer loyalty, retention and growth – the number one strategic priority for industry leaders.
Re-engaging with customers is going to be extremely difficult without re-engaging with employees and the challenge is heightened by the extent to which trust between employers and employees in the industry has been shaken by retrenchment and organizational upheaval.
Significant changes required in organization culture, including demonstrating and reinforcing the right behaviors across all front and back office functions and geographies.
Bhushan Sethi, PwC’s financial services people & change practice leader said: “Rather than actively shaping the people strategies that financial institutions need to move the business forward, many are reacting to immediate pressures. But the upheaval in the marketplace and challenge of re-engaging with customers and staff are making the need to regain control of the people agenda ever more pressing. To get their people strategy onto the front foot, executives need to know what the new objectives for the business are and what people strategy components are needed to support and deliver them.”
Limited availability of skills are biggest threat to growth
Sethi continued, “Addressing these questions will make sure businesses are more likely to have the right people, with the right skills and motivation to contend with the new market realities and take the business forward. Underpinning this will be a clear statement of why people would want to work for the business, which is capable of attracting and retaining talent without simply relying on pay.”
Rebuilding reputation
There is significant disillusionment with the financial services industry. For many people in the industry, this antagonism has created a ‘them and us’ mentality that is suspicious of change and reluctant to re-engage with those from outside.
The reputation of the industry is also making it difficult to attract talent. A global PwC survey of college leavers coming into the workforce found that more than 20 percent would no longer even consider a career in financial services because of its image. Jobs with meaning and interest are a key attraction for this millennial generation.
A new employee value proposition
A considerable amount of the employee value proposition within financial services has been built around financial reward. But the sharp falls in returns since the financial crisis mean that there simply aren’t the funds to sustain the old levels of compensation. Nonetheless, more than 70 percent of financial services CEOs say that they have to match the pay of peers to retain top talent. These pay pressures need to be balanced with the returns to satisfy shareholders and fund investment for growth.
Further strains are coming from stakeholder pressures being put on how organizations set rewards – nearly 40 percent of financial services CEOs are changing the way they set executive reward in response to shareholder and public reaction. These demands are leading to a huge and complex overhaul of reward policies, with significant implications for the balance of fixed, variable and deferred pay and the governance, communication and employee engagement procedures that surround this. Supporting the organizational reputation by requiring employees to live up to expectations on behavior and accountability should be a key aspect of the reward package.
“A culture of integrity, customer focus and risk-awareness is critical in re-engaging with customers and rebuilding confidence in the industry. There are clear competitive advantages for getting this right including better targeting of products, stronger reputation and more effective retention of key people,” Sethi remarked.
He added, “Pay is still important, but not at the expense of everything else. There needs to be a more viable balance between risk and capital demands, employee reward and the returns needed to attract investment and fund future growth.”
Foto cedidaBill McQuaker, Head of Multi-Asset & Deputy Head of Equities Henderson Global Investors. Financial markets: against all odds a good period
It’s the beginning of the second quarter and it seems like quite a good time to look back and review what’s happened in financial markets over the last two or three quarters and to look forward into the spring and summer months.
In terms of the period gone by, perhaps against all odds it’s been a good period for financial markets. There have been good results from equities but other asset classes have performed well and the driving force behind that, in our view, has been once again activity from the world central banks. The second half of 2012 was characterised by a lot of policy in the US, in Europe with the OMT and then, towards the tail end of the year, in Japan with the surprise elections and change of guard at the Bank of Japan.
We’ve seen investors embrace particularly European equities for the first time in a while
And it was those things that really energised particularly equity markets and drove strong performance. The impact has been quite considerable in terms of portfolio positioning. We’ve seen investors embrace particularly European equities for the first time in a while and cash has moved into equities in a more meaningful way than we’ve seen for a long time but also into bonds. We don’t believe that the great rotation that’s been talked about has really gotten underway. There hasn’t been selling of bonds but rather a move into both bonds and equities.
In terms of where all that leaves us, our expectation is that the second quarter may well be a period of consolidation for markets. The policy that I described as characterising 2012 is not going to be as noticeable in the US. It’s likely that the discussion will probably revolve around when and whether the Federal Reserve is going to start to wind down quantitative easing. In Europe the likelihood is that there won’t be much in the way of fresh initiatives from the ECB.
Perhaps in Japan we’ll see a bit more but in the main policy’s going to be less of a dynamic than it has been for markets and that means that, with prices having risen a fair way, some of the wind is going to be taken out of the sales. I think, increasingly the markets’ attention is going to be paid to the growth side of the equation, looking for evidence of decent global growth, of stabilisation in global growth and there we don’t have particularly bright expectations but nor are we especially bearish. The world has muddled through for the last few years on the growth front and we think that’s likely to continue to be the picture.
What does that mean in terms of portfolio positioning? I think the temptation is to back away a bit from the equity market. We suspect that might actually be a mistake; despite the issues I’ve described on policy and growth front we don’t believe there are likely to be renewed fears of recession. We think that in Europe the crisis is going to continue in this chronic rather than acute phase and that’s a backdrop against which investors, we think, will continue to be interested in yield and searching for yield. That leads them almost inevitably to certain parts of the equity market and towards the higher-risk end of bond markets. We think that trend may well continue into the second quarter.
So in aggregate, perhaps a flat quarter or a modest up-market in risk assets and equities in particular but within equity markets the leadership, we think, may continue to come from areas that offer yield, areas that offer some robustness in terms of business models and security of growth and perhaps areas of the world where policy’s going to be a little more accommodative, a little more stimulative than elsewhere.
Wikimedia CommonsClaude Monet. BBVA Compass y Christie´s anuncian una alianza
BBVA Compass announced a new partnership with Christie’s that combines the bank’s financial capabilities with the auction house’s expertise in collectible assets — and will bring rarely seen pieces of art to the bank’s clients in a series of exclusive events.
“We’re a bank that appreciates the importance of art, indeed the value of art, and many of our clients do as well,” said Manolo Sanchez , BBVA Compass president and CEO. “This new relationship is our way of bringing Christie’s expertise to them in a useful and sophisticated way.”
To kick off the partnership, BBVA Compass and Christie’s will co-host a private event in Dallas this evening that will feature paintings by Claude Monet , Camille Pissarro , Berthe Morisot and remarks by Pissarro expert Dr. Richard Brettell . Until now, the works have been held in private collections. They’ll be up for auction in May and could again disappear from public view.
The relationship between Christie’s and BBVA Compass, a subsidiary of Spain-based BBVA Group, draws synergies from the similar hallmarks of each: international reach and client service. For its part, BBVA has a strong presence from Mexico to Argentina.
“This new relationship brings together two organizations with a global presence and exceptional client service,” said Stephen Lash , chairman emeritus of Christie’s. “While our initial work together will begin in the U.S., there is clearly an opportunity to work together in Mexico, Latin America and beyond.”
The partnership will be especially useful to the bank’s clients who need financial advice on managing “treasure assets,” such as fine art, antiques, wine, classic cars and jewelry. A recent report by Deloitte found that wealthy individuals hold an average of 9.6 percent of their total net worth in such assets, which require precise documentation for insurance purposes and estate planning.
“This new partnership will enable our organization to more broadly serve our clients by directly leveraging Christie’s subject matter experts,” said Bill Helms , head of Wealth Management at BBVA Compass, referring to Christie’s experts in more than 40 categories of collectible assets. “It’s our responsibility to provide clients with the best advice possible and that’s a solemn trust our Wealth Managers have dedicated their careers to providing.”
As part of its commitment to supporting the arts, BBVA Compass recently provided funding for the “Chagall: Beyond Color” exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. The bank has also sponsored other high-profile exhibitions, including one at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston that featured the largest collection of art ever to leave Spain‘s Prado museum.
About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 708 branches, including 367 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 79 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 20 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading Small Business Administration lenders and ranked third in American Banker’s 2012 reputation study of the leading 30 banks in the U.S.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Mauricio Mercer (Curitiba, Brasil)
. Ashmore registra su fondo de deuda turca y el de equity brasileño en Luxemburgo
Ashmore Investment Management Limited (“Ashmore”), one of the world’s largest specialist managers of Emerging Market (“EM”) debt and equity securities, with assets under management of US$77.7billion* today announced that its Turkish Debt Fund and Brasil Equity Fund have been registered as SICAVs. The funds will now be available to institutional and retail investors.
The Ashmore Turkish Debt Fund targets total return through active management of a diversified portfolio of Turkish debt and other instruments. The fund invests primarily in Turkish local currency sovereign bonds, supplemented by corporate debt.
The Ashmore Brasil Equity Fund is an actively managed long only fund investing in Brazilian equities and equity-linked instruments. It aims to outperform the MSCI Brazil index by adopting an active management style that combines dynamic allocation via bottom-up stock picking approach, which is complemented by Ashmore Group’s top-down views. Allocation is focused on liquid stocks although less liquid names may be added to the portfolio where the investment case is compelling.
Both Turkey and Brazil offer interesting opportunities for investors.
Turkey’s attractive public debt to GDP ratio compares well to the fundamentals of the HIDCs (“Heavily Indebted Developed Countries”). Furthermore, developing corporate bond markets offer opportunities for yield enhancement.
Brazil’s ongoing infrastructure investment plan, together with strong domestic consumption driven by the secular growth of the middle class offers attractive opportunities.
Both funds will continue to provide long term capital growth and remain available to institutional investors.
Commenting on the announcement, Christoph Hofmann, Ashmore’s Global Head of Distribution said:
“Ashmore has a 20 year track record of investing in Emerging Markets. The Turkish Debt Fund and Brasil Equity Fund were previously available in other jurisdictions. Our decision to redomicile these funds to our Luxembourg SICAV is part of our ongoing strategy to make our funds available through easily accessible vehicles. There are exciting investment opportunities in Turkey and Brazil and the SICAV funds bring our expertise in EM to a broader audience.
“The fund broadens the range of Ashmore’s Emerging Markets SICAV product offering which includes debt and equity themes, now available to investors through Ashmore’s comprehensive Luxembourg SICAV platform.”
The two SICAV Funds are open-ended, UCITS IV Luxembourg registered funds, offering daily dealing. They are registered for sale in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK and available in share class denominations in US dollars, Euros, UK sterling and other currencies.
Wikimedia CommonsJaime Pérez-Maura y Cristina Benavides. Foto cedida por Allfunds Bank. Allfunds Bank nombra a Jaime Pérez-Maura director de Desarrollo de Negocio
Allfunds Bank has appointed Jaime Pérez-Maura as the new Business Development & Sales Planning Director. In this new role, he will be responsible for the development of new business in Europe and Far East, managing global key accounts. Jaime will now report to Gianluca Renzini, Chief Commercial Officer at Allfunds Bank.
Communication and Market Intelligence responsibilities will remain under his supervision, but will no longer be involved in the Investment Solutions area, area where he has worked since he joined Allfunds Bank thirteen years ago.
New Investment Solutions Head
The Investment Services Department will remain divided into two areas, Investment Research and Investment Solutions. Both report directly to Juan Alcaraz, Allfunds Bank’s CEO, due to their major relevance within the platform.
The Investment Research area is headed by Enrique Pardo and comprises one of the largest teams of fund analysts in Europe with analysts located in London and Madrid. The Investment Research team is responsible for fund research and selection covering all asset classes with a highly sophisticated research approach, matching all the needs of top institutional fund investors.
The Investment Solutions area, formerly led by Jaime Pérez-Maura, will now be led by Cristina de Benavides who has been promoted to Global Head of Investment Solutions. The Investment Solutions team includes 10 investment professionals around the world, taking care of the relationship and fund selection service delivery to a vast number of institutional clients on the platform. Cristina, formerly Head of Product Specialists, has more than ten years of professional experience, all within Allfunds Bank. Cristina’s work has always been related to fund investments both in Madrid and Milan offices.
Platform enhancement
By promoting Jaime and Cristina to their new senior roles, Allfunds Bank aims to benefit from their vast experience in the industry and their knowledge of the company in its quest to become the global leader in Fund Open Architecture solutions.
Jaime Pérez-Maura
Jaime Pérez-Maura has more than 13 years of experience in the industry. He joined Allfunds Bank in 2000 as a fund analyst and was quickly promoted to Head of Fund Selection. In 2008 he was named Director of Investment Consulting. Jaime has been involved in fund area since the inception of the platform; promoting and designing most of the enhancements that have made fund research a core service to the Allfunds Bank’s institutional client base.
Cristina de Benavides
Cristina de Benavides has more than 10 years of experience in the industry, with an extraordinary career as an investment professional at Allfunds Bank. While she spent most of her time in Madrid, she spent several years in the Milan office, actively involved in the definition of the fund selection proposition in Italy since the local office launch.
