India’s Changing Demographics Offer Investment Opportunities, but Beware of High Valuations

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India is known for its vibrant economy, diverse sectors and robust growth potential. The country recently surpassed China as the most populous in the world, making it an attractive destination for investors looking to capitalize on its dynamic market. In recent years, India has witnessed a transformative wave of economic reforms, coupled with a thriving entrepreneurial spirit, paving the way for interesting investment prospects.

Indian equities offer a wide range of sectors that present compelling opportunities for investors seeking long term growth from technology and consumer goods to health care and housing. Josh Rubin is portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management and recently visited the country.

The Modi-led government, which actually faces General election here in just a few months, has done a lot to try and bolster the Indian economy over the past several years. What is there still left to do and what are some of your general thoughts around the upcoming election?

The spring elections are very important for both capital markets and corporate confidence. For the next five years, we would be entering Modi’s third term. His first term was about learning how to govern. That coalition had never governed before. The second term was more about solidifying the policies they’ve been putting in place.

I think the third term would be about finalizing the muscle memory of the whole economy for how to operate going forward. What we’ve seen over time are improvements that reduce friction for interstate commerce, and that’s really important in a country as big as India, along with tax collection, which reduces the informal economy, the gray market economy, and strengthens the formal economy along with land use policies that make development easier.

During these two terms, corporates and individuals were really learning how to adapt their lives to the new policies. Stability in the third term can really make all of those a permanent part of the Indian economic structure.

Although India has plenty of attractive opportunities, it also has a great disparity between the wealthier urban cities and the poor rural areas. How do you think about the contrast between those two groups and how does it factor into your investment thinking?

Demographics are definitely an important starting point for any Indian equity investor. But we believe it’s important to think about the construct today compared to what it will look like in the future. Today, the population looks like the base of a pyramid at its lowest end. The greatest part of the population is at poverty level, earning enough to eat, but not to do much more for the next decade.

We think that pyramid will turn and look much more like a diamond, meaning the middle-income levels should be about 50% of the population a decade from now rather than 25% today. The other part of it is we certainly know population growth, but it’s not just the absolute number of people in the country. A lot of it has to do with household growth.

Historically, India has been a country of multigenerational households where the grandparents, the parents and the kids live together. The household might be eight or ten people. With rising incomes, we have begun to see just single-family units living together. As result certain aspects of consumption are growing much faster than the population, both because of income growth and because of the increasing number of households as households get smaller.

What are some areas of the Indian economy that really stand out right now?

The good news is the top-down picture for investing in India is very attractive and the breadth of offer opportunities is very high across all sectors. There are interesting themes and great companies to invest in. The bad news is valuations are also very high in India today. Therefore, discipline and caution are important when thinking about the entry point for stocks, since both on an absolute basis and relative to the rest of emerging markets valuations are elevated.

We are finding opportunities in areas that pivot around a popular theme. For instance, people generally think of the consumer as being discretionary consumption in stores, retail and so forth. But housing in India certainly is a consumer product that has been underinvested in for the last decade. What’s really interesting is that across the rest of the world, we’ve seen rising home prices and now peak interest rates, making housing affordability at an all-time low across the world. But in India, even after a decade of underinvestment, house prices have basically been stable while incomes have been growing. Affordability is at all-time highs in India today.

Indian Consumers are ready to buy a new home, especially after Covid. It’s a catalyst for people to move out of a ten-person household into just a single-family household. Some home builder companies believe they have the opportunity for 15 to 20% growth over the next decade at multiples that are in line with or sometimes even cheaper than other consumer discretionary companies.

Another area of underinvestment but with a long runway for growth is health care. India has been a great training ground for doctors and other healthcare professionals for the rest of the world for the last 20 to 30 years. But today, with rising incomes, there’s a chance for those professionals to stay in country and provide health care to the general Indian population. Looking at a variety of metrics, primary care and insurance coverage are generally low, so we think there are very attractive opportunities for investing in the healthcare space in India today.

The third area we think still has growth potential the financial sector. There are three parts to it. One is for India’s growth; corporates still need to borrow to invest in additional capacity for anything they’re providing. The second area is wealthier and middle income households that are growing more sophisticated in the needs they have for financial products. And finally, that bottom of the pyramid we discussed needs products and financial inclusion as it moves into the middle of the diamond.

US Deal Activity is Providing Investors with New Opportunities to Deploy Capital

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U.S. equities maintained their upward trajectory in February as the S&P 500 breached 5,000 for the first time. Building upon January’s momentum, the S&P 500 delivered its best two-month performance to start a year since 2019.

Playing a pivotal role in this sustained performance were several of the mega-cap tech companies often referred to as the “Magnificent 7”, notably Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META). Their earnings were bolstered by tailwinds in artificial intelligence, accelerated growth trajectories, and strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing shareholder value.

While the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise rates further, the timing and pace of potential rate cuts remain uncertain. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that he would require “at least another couple of months” of data to determine if inflation has sufficiently moderated to justify interest rate reductions. The Fed will persist in monitoring incoming data and progress towards achieving their 2% inflation target. Despite investor eagerness for imminent interest rate cuts, initiating them prematurely could potentially lead to a resurgence of inflation.

The Russell 2000 outperformed the S&P 500 in February, but remains below its all-time high set in November 2021. We anticipate a favorable environment for smaller companies in 2024 as post-peak rates and necessary consolidation in certain industries like media, energy and banking should lead to a more robust year. M&A activity began the year strong, setting the stage for catalysts to emerge within our portfolio of companies.

Merger arbitrage performance in February was bolstered by deals that made significant progress towards completion. Immunogen, a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies to treat cancer, was acquired by Abbvie in February for $31.26 cash per share, or about $9 billion. Shares of Immunogen traded at a 6% discount to deal terms days before the deal closed, reflecting the uncertainty over whether the US FTC would launch a phase 2 antitrust investigation, but the FTC approved the deal and it subsequently closed on February 13.

Deal activity was vibrant in February, giving investors many new opportunities to deploy capital including: Masonite’s $4 billion deal to be acquired by Owens Corning, Catalent’s $16 billion deal to be acquired by Novo Holdings, Cymabay Therapeutics’ $4 billion deal to be acquired by Gilead, and Everbridge’s $2 billion deal to be acquired by Thoma Bravo. Deal activity in 2024 has improved compared to 2023, and attractive spreads on deals have created additional opportunities to generate absolute returns.

February was a relatively good month for the convertibles market. With a few notable exceptions, many companies reported earnings and issued guidance that was better than anticipated moving underlying equities higher. Additionally, there has been a bid for convertibles that will need to be refinanced in the coming year. In some cases, this has been from the issuer themselves, but we have also seen a number trade higher in anticipation of a refinancing round. Issuance has picked up substantially with many companies coming back to our market to refinance these upcoming maturities. This new paper has largely been attractive, offering higher coupons and a greater level of equity sensitivity.

 

Opinion article by Michael Gabelli, managing director at Gabelli & Partners 

Artificial Intelligence: Psychotropics for nerds

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Photo courtesy. FII Priority Miami - Gavin Baker and Antonio J Gracias

In a conversation at FII Priority Miami 2024, Gavin Baker, Managing Partner and CIO of Atreides Capital, LP, and Antonio J Gracias, Founder, CEO, & CIO of Valor Equity Partners, delved into the intricacies of investing in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), one of the main topics of the conference. Their discourse provided a panoramic view of the AI landscape, offering insights into the future of technology and investment strategies.

Gavin Baker illuminated the evolution from mini computers to PCs, then to mobile and cloud computing, positioning AI as the current fundamental platform shift. He emphasized the strategic importance of focusing on the infrastructure layer for initial investments in AI, highlighting the significant role of GPUs in this new era.

Gracias’ analogy of GPUs as “psychotropics for nerds” resonates with the hype in the investment industry toward AI. Gavin Baker, who ran Fidelity’s OTC portfolio with US$17 billion under management before founding Atreides in 2019, compared the current situation to a high-end restaurant where the star chef is powered by AI provided by an Nvidia’s GPU which makes him 50 times faster than four years ago, while the rest of the staff is working at yesterdays speed. “So the food needs to be delivered, the sous chef needs to prepare it. And because the GPU has gotten so much faster, it is doing nothing most of the time. 70% of the time, it’s doing nothing. It’s just drawing power”, explained Gavin, “so our kind of shared core infrastructure level thesis is we’re investing in things that increase the GPU utilization. Because if you can take that GPU from being utilized 30% of the time to 60% of time you can double the output of that restaurant, or that AI factor.”

Antonio J Gracias pointed to the real value in data and reinforcement learning, signifying a pivot towards investing in companies excelling in these areas. This perspective aligns with the broader vision of harnessing AI’s capabilities for transformative purposes across various sectors.

The conversation also touched on the valuation dynamics of foundational model companies within the AI sphere. Baker suggested that companies integrated with major internet platforms and possessing proprietary data stand to be immensely valuable, predicting that entities like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI, along with emerging players like xAI (Grok), could dominate the landscape.

How to avoid P doom

Furthermore, the dialogue addressed the critical topic of regulation within the AI domain, advocating for a multipolar AI ecosystem to prevent the consolidation of power and ensure a diversity of AI entities. “We want a multi polarity of AIs, we don’t want to live in a world where there’s one AI superpower or two AI superpowers,” argued Gavin. He pointed out that any survey of the top thousand people working on AI for the probability that AI is an extinction level event for humanity (P doom), consistently agrees on a 15% chance. “So that’s pretty high”, he said. “The most important thing is to lower the odds of that 15% and improve the odds of the 85% being awesome. I think if we have many AIs, it increases the odds that at least some of them are friendly to us as humans.”

White-Collar vs Blue-Collar Effect of AI

Lastly, the potential impact of AI on both white-collar and blue-collar jobs was discussed, with predictions of significant disruptions and opportunities arising from the integration of AI into various labor sectors.

Gavin argued that there has been a lot of focus on the impact of AI on knowledge work and white collar workers, “but I think when we see AI dropped into a very functional humanoid robot, there may be an immense impact on blue collar work, and this may seem very funny to historians, that anyone was worried about inflation in front of this kind of deflationary tidal wave.”

FII Priority Miami is organized by FII Institute, is a global nonprofit reflecting on ideas and real-world solutions and actions in four critical areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, Education, Healthcare and Sustainability. It is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and counts with numerous strategic partners including some of the most relevant names in the asset management industry (Franklin Templeton and State Street, among others).

 

Cherry Bekaert: Clearer Skies Emerge for Private Equity Amidst Challenges

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Tecnología y salud entre pequeñas y medianas ofertas
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Cherry Bekaert has published its annual year-end Private Equity Industry Report outlining important developments that impacted the private investment markets in 2023. The report found many headwinds that slowed private equity dealmaking in 2022 continued to impact the industry over the course of last year, causing deal activity to decline sharply for the second year in a row. The M&A environment is now grappling with its longest decline in over a decade.

The report highlights the many challenges faced by the sector over the last 12 months and features data provided by PitchbookTM and other sources, including proprietary Firm data.

Though many of the challenges were carryovers from the previous year (persistent high interest rates and inflation; a stark valuation gap between buyers and sellers; and general market upheavals), other emerging issues dampened deal activity.

Nevertheless, private equity as an asset class continued to show its resiliency as sophisticated dealmakers deployed innovative strategies to keep transaction activity on par with historic pre-pandemic averages.

The report unveiled several key findings, underscoring a trend where, for the second consecutive year, deal activity has trended downward. This trend was characterized by a sharp decline in deal volume and contracting valuation multiples, highlighting the challenges pervading the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape. Deal makers have had to come to terms with the higher-for-longer interest rate environment, further complicated by the fallout from early 2023 bank collapses. These events have not only created longer-term liquidity concerns but also increased capital costs for private investment funds.

The landscape was further complicated by increased regulatory activity, generating uncertainty for limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) alike. This uncertainty stems from various factors, including rulings from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and mandates related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, leading to increased scrutiny from regulators towards fund managers and investors.

Despite these challenges, the report identifies a few bright spots and pockets of opportunity that have generated optimism within the sector. Notably, the proliferation of carve-out and add-on deals has acted as a shock absorber for middle-market deal activity, helping to sustain momentum in the deal market despite significant headwinds. Furthermore, private credit has advanced its market share of M&A loan funding. As traditional lender sources have scaled back on debt funding, direct lending has stepped in to fill the financing gaps left by the pullback in syndicated debt financings.

The middle market, in particular, has shown resilience and outperformed other segments. Although not entirely immune from the stagnation affecting the deal-making world, the decline in the middle market was less acute compared to the broader M&A market. Additionally, the technology and professional services sectors have emerged as focal areas for private equity investment. Technology, especially with the growing segment of artificial intelligence (AI), accounted for nearly one-third of leveraged buyout activity. Meanwhile, professional services have garnered increasing interest from private equity investors, with particular emphasis on categories such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms, wealth management, and consulting firms. This detailed landscape provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of M&A activity, highlighting the challenges, adaptations, and sectors of growth within the industry.

If you want to read the full report you can access the following link.

 

Small Companies: Pay More Attention to its Convertibles

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U.S. equities were mostly higher for the month of January, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh all-time high for the first time since early 2022. Stocks seamlessly extended their positive momentum from Q4 into the New Year, sustained by the stellar performance of several “Magnificent 7” names, including Nvidia (NVDA), Netflix (NFLX), and Meta (META). Despite caution prompted by overbought conditions lingering from year-end, the market continues to exhibit its resilience.

On January 31, the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at their current levels while indicating a reluctance to initiate rate cuts as soon as March. During the press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the Fed needs to see more evidence that falling inflation is sustainable and that there is a ‘ways to go’ before declaring that a soft landing has been achieved. Investors have been encouraged by leading indicators such as the PMI, corporate results, and commentary, suggesting that an economic deceleration is already well underway. The next FOMC meeting is March 19-20.

Small-cap stocks began the month trailing behind large-cap stocks, which is unusual considering small-caps have historically performed well in January. The lackluster performance of small-caps can be largely attributed to their significant surge in December. However, we anticipate a favorable environment for smaller companies in 2024 as post-peak rates and necessary consolidation in certain industries like media, energy and banking should lead to a more robust year. M&A activity began the year strong, setting the stage for catalysts to emerge within our portfolio of companies.

Merger Arbitrage investors were crimped by widening spreads following the termination of Avangrid’s acquisition of PNM Resources and the overhang from two deals blocked by regulators – JetBlue’s $7.5 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines and Amazon’s $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot.  Spreads widened in sympathy on deals subject to extended antitrust reviews, including Albertsons, Capri, Hess/Chevron, Pioneer/Exxon. Our belief is that these deals will be completed allowing investors to earn greater returns going forward.

In the case of PNM Resources, after the companies received all other required approvals, the companies appealed New Mexico’s utility regulator’s rejection to the state’s Supreme Court. Avangrid then elected to let the merger agreement expire in January instead of waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court. While the outcome was disappointing, the downside in PNM was judged limited, and we sized the position appropriately. Furthermore, PNM provided updated guidance in February that positions it as one of the fastest growing utilities in the US and deserving of a premium valuation. We expect to work out of PNM in the coming months as shares narrow the valuation discount.

While equity market performance in January was driven by a few mega-cap tech companies, the convertible market has many small and mid-cap issuers, with opportunities for asymmetrical returns over the longer term. We continue to see a large number of maturities that will need to be addressed this year, which we expect to benefit convertible issuance. With interest rates remaining higher, convertible’s relatively low interest rates should make them a compelling option as companies look to refinance without a significant increase in interest expense. Recent issuance has come at attractive levels for investors while still offering companies an attractive cost of capital. Many of the new issues over the past 6 months have performed well out of the gate, and remain compelling portfolio holdings as they generally have lower premiums than many existing issues.

 

Opinion article by Michael Gabelli, managing director at Gabelli & Partners 

FlexFunds Strengthens its Team in Brazil and the United States

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Photo courtesyWilson Gomes & Carlos Andón.

FlexFunds announced the strengthening of its team with the appointments of Wilson Gomes and Carlos Andón.

“This solidifies FlexFunds’ position in the Brazilian financial market, from acquiring prominent local clients and placing Andón as the leader of its operational innovation project”, the firm said in a press released.

With over 20 years of experience in the Brazilian financial market, Wilson Gomes joins as Business Development Manager in Sao Paulo.

Gomes has held managerial roles in Bank of Boston, Bloomberg, and MarketAxess. With a degree in Business Administration from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and postgraduate studies at UC Berkeley, “his deep knowledge of the local market and successful track record make him a valuable asset to the FlexFunds team”, the company added.

“The addition of Wilson will allow us to expand our growth horizons in the Brazilian market, adapting our solutions to the needs of local asset managers. We see significant potential for asset securitization through local sub-custody, driving the distribution of portfolio managers’ investment strategies,” said José Carlos González Navarro, CEO of FlexFunds.

FlexFunds’ solutions currently have Brazilian clients such as CIX Capital, Leste and Fortune Wealth Management, which have securitized more than $200 million in assets, the press release adds. Additionally, the company has recently launched a solution specifically developed for the Brazilian market, allowing the securitization of a portfolio of local assets through sub-custodians in Brazil.

Meanwhile, based in Miami, Carlos Andón is promoted as Director of Product Operations. A veteran of FlexFunds, Andón has played a crucial role in achieving the automation of key architecture, policies, and procedures for the firm. He has also overseen the establishment of trading lines with over 50 counterparts worldwide and coordinates the global notes program with over USD 1.5 billion in assets under service. Andón will lead the operational innovation project for client reporting and automating the pricing calculation of FlexFunds’ ETPs, according to the firm.

“Carlos’s appointment is a source of pride and reflects the worth of our team. His leadership will be essential to continue offering our clients a world-class asset securitization program, enabling them to expand the distribution of investment strategies cost-effectively,” stated Emilio Veiga Gil, Executive Vice President of FlexFunds.

 

 

 

Median Prices and New Listings on the Rise in Florida

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Florida’s real estate market started 2024 on the upswing: higher median prices, more new listings, more inventory (active listings) and year-over-year averages, according to the latest real estate data from Florida Realtors®.

However, mortgage interest rates above 6% continued to affect the buying power of potential homebuyers, while contributing to a lock-in effect among potential home sellers who purchased their homes years ago with a 3% to 4.5% mortgage rate.

“We are seeing positive signs that for-sale inventory is starting to increase in many local markets across the state, which should encourage buyers who may have been waiting on the sidelines,” said 2024 Florida Realtors® President Gia Arvin, broker-owner of Matchmaker Realty in Gainesville.

Closed sales of single-family homes statewide in January totaled 14,851, up 0.6% from the January 2023 level, while sales of existing condominiums and townhomes totaled 6,008*, up 1.2% year-over-year, according to data from Florida Realtors’ Research Department in collaboration with local Realtor boards/associations.

In January, the statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes was $405,000, up 3.8% from a year earlier; for condo and townhouse units, it was $320,000, up 3.2% from January 2023.

“While sales and prices remained fairly similar compared to a year ago, we saw significantly more new listings this January,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor.

Amerant Investments Partners with iCapital

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Slatestone y Temperance Partners
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Amerant Investments announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with iCapital.

This collaboration will provide Amerant Investment’s financial advisors, along with their clients, access to private market opportunities and analytics. The partnership will also entail oversight of the entire investment and education experience through a unified technology platform and operating system, according the press release.

“At Amerant Investments, we recognize that private markets investments have the potential to generate higher returns and provide diversification benefits to investors as they seek to access relatively untapped opportunities,” said Sergio Guerrero, COO at Amerant Investments. “We are excited to leverage iCapital’s curated options, innovative technology, and robust educational materials to help set our financial advisors up for success.”

“Unicorn Strategic Partners, a key distribution partner to asset managers and a strategic ally to iCapital in the LATAM region, will play a crucial role in supporting Amerant’s distribution efforts. Additionally, they will educate Amerant’s network of advisors on the available asset classes and funds via iCapital Marketplace, a platform featuring the industry’s broadest selection of alternative investment funds, due diligence and education resources, fund subscription processing, and third-party reporting services”, the firm said.

The menu will focus on semi-liquid and closed-end funds available on iCapital Marketplace. iCapital’s market-leading technology platform and solutions have effectively and efficiently diminished the historical barriers that wealth managers and their clients have faced when investing in private markets by automating the subscription, administration, operational, and reporting processes for the life of the investment.

In addition, the partnership with iCapital provides Amerant with a full suite of research, due diligence, and educational materials to empower their financial advisors and investors. It will include access to iCapital’s comprehensive educational offerings, including the AltsEdgeTM Certificate Program, an educational initiative jointly created by iCapital and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, designed to help wealth managers better understand alternative investments and how they can leverage them to improve client outcomes. The AltsEdgeTM program consists of ten research-based, CE-accredited modules covering the private markets, various types of strategies and product structures, and portfolio construction.

“Wealth managers are increasingly looking to alternative investments as a way to help their clients improve their financial outcomes,” said Wes Sturdevant, Managing Director, iCapital Enterprise Solutions. “We are proud to establish this partnership with Amerant Investments, a respected registered investment advisor and broker-dealer with wealth management expertise in the Latin America and U.S. markets and welcome the opportunity to support their expansion into alternative investments.”

Growth Beyond Megacaps: MFS’s Proposal for the IV Funds Society Investment Summit & Rodeo

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Photo courtesyScott T. Edgcomb, CFA, Director and Investment Product Specialist de MFS Investment Management

MFS will showcase its US Growth Equities strategy at the IV Funds Society Investment Summit & Rodeo, focusing on opportunities beyond the “magnificent seven.”

The event, set to take place on February 29th at the JW Marriott Houston by The Galleria, will feature Scott T. Edgcomb, CFA, Director, Investment Product Specialist at MFS, discussing viable and sustainable growth companies outside of the “magnificent seven.”

“While the media continuously talks about the Magnificent Seven as if they were a monolith, each of them is distinct in terms of earnings, cash flow, and valuation. After dominating performance in the early part of 2023, the performance of the Magnificent Seven was less striking for the remainder of the year,” states MFS’s strategy description.

The firm focuses “on earnings growth over full cycles and companies with exposure to strong secular growth trends, enduring competitive advantages, high barriers to entry, pricing power, and solid management teams,” it describes.

Moreover, they seek companies with a high degree of earnings visibility and a narrow range of possible earnings outcomes.

Edgcomb’s presentation will cover topics related to how artificial intelligence and technological advancement will lead to increased complexity in semiconductor design and manufacturing, and how labor productivity increases will more than offset wage inflation.

After the experts’ conferences, guests will be transported to the NRG Stadium to enjoy the Houston’s Livestock Show and Rodeo from the Funds Society’s private suite.

About Scott T. Edgcomb, CFA

He is a Director and Investment Product Specialist at MFS Investment Management. He is responsible for communicating investment policy, strategy, and tactics; conducting portfolio analysis; and leading product development.

Edgcomb joined MFS in 2011 as a customer service representative. He also served as a regional sales representative and senior investment product analyst before taking on his current role in 2018. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and management from Georgetown University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Boston.

LV Distribution and Crossmark Global Investments Forge Strategic Partnership

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LV Distribution announced a strategic partnership with Crossmark Global Investments. This collaboration marks a “pivotal moment in the financial services landscape, as LV Distribution takes a significant step towards expanding its offerings and providing exceptional investment solutions to Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and Family Offices,” the firm said.

Crossmark Global Investments, led by investment veteran Bob Doll, brings “a rich legacy of values-based investing expertise and an array of innovative investment products across mutual funds and SMAs in both traditional and liquid alternative asset classes,” the press released added.  With a shared commitment to excellence and client-centric solutions, both LV Distribution and Crossmark Global Investments aim to provide RIAs and Family Offices access to diversified, cutting-edge investment strategies.

“We are thrilled to partner with Crossmark Global Investments, an esteemed firm that shares our  goal of delivering exceptional investment solutions to clients that would like to invest alongside their values in addition to a wide array of uniquely positioned investment solutions ,” said Edward Soltys, Head of LV Distribution. “This collaboration represents a significant milestone for LV Distribution as we continue to enhance our offerings and provide the highest quality investment options for our valued clients.”

LV Distribution’s network, coupled with Crossmark Global Investments’ proven track record in managing investment products, creates a powerful alliance poised to serve the diverse needs of RIAs and Family Offices. The partnership will enable LV Distribution to offer Crossmark Global Investments’ suite of investment solutions, providing investors with access to innovative strategies designed to meet their unique financial objectives, adds the firm’s statement accessed by Funds Society.

“We are excited to join forces with LV Distribution to expand the reach of our investment products and services,” said Heather Lindsey, Managing Director, Head of Distribution at Crossmark Global Investments. “We have seen steady growth in demand for Crossmark’s investment capabilities over the past several years. LV Distribution’s expertise in third-party asset management distribution, combined with our investment capabilities, will enable us to reach a greater number of investors and advisors who are seeking to align their investments with their values.”

Both LV Distribution and Crossmark Global Investments are dedicated to fostering strong relationships and delivering outstanding investment experiences to clients. Through this partnership, the companies will further strengthen their commitment to helping investors achieve their financial objectives and driving long-term success in the ever-evolving financial landscape.