Photo: Youtube. Playboy Mansion Still Listed For $200 Million
One of America’s most famous addresses, known for legendary parties and lavish lifestyle, The Playboy Mansion, has been listed for $200 million, The Agency and Hilton & Hyland announced.
“This is the right time to seek a buyer for this incredible property who understands the role the Mansion has played for our brand and enables us to continue to reinvest in the transformation of our business,” said Playboy Enterprises CEO, Scott Flanders. “The Playboy Mansion has been a creative center for Hef as his residence and workplace for the past 40 years, as it will continue to be if the property is sold.”
The crown jewel of L.A.’s “Platinum Triangle” situated on 5 picturesque acres in Holmby Hills, The Playboy Mansion is a nearly 20,000 square foot residence that is both an ultra-private retreat and the ultimate setting for large-scale entertaining. The Mansion features 29 rooms and every amenity imaginable, including a catering kitchen, wine cellar, home theater, separate game house, gym, tennis court and freeform swimming pool with a large, cave-like grotto. The property also features a four-bedroom guest house. In addition, it is one of a select few private residences in L.A. with a zoo license.
The principal agents are Drew Fentonand Gary Goldof Hilton & Hyland and Mauricio Umansky of The Agency. “The Agency couldn’t be prouder to represent one of the most well-known estates in the country,” said Mauricio Umansky. “With its iconic style and immaculate grounds, the Mansion has inspired so many properties throughout Southern California.”
According to a presentation by Rahul Chadha, co-director of Mirae Asset Global Investments Investments, despite the over 40% correction seen in recent months, the A-share market in China is still overvalued. However investors should not panic because “valuations in Asia are still very attractive with a price over book value of 1.25x. At these levels, investors have historically achieved positive returns in 12 months” Chadha writes.
The presentation notes that 85% of the A-shares market is held by retail investors, of which 81% operate at least once a month, whereas in the US, 53% of retail investors operate monthly. One important thing to note is that according to Chadha, more than two thirds of new retail investors did not attend or finish High School.
For Portfolio Positioning, Chadha identifies key differences in between what he considers Good China vs. Bad China. Under Good China he highlights industries that are Under-penetrated, less capital intensive, with sustainable economic moats, such as healthcare, insurance, clean energy, internet / e-commerce, travel & tourism. While on the Bad China side we can find Well-penetrated industries that are capital intensive, have low barriers to entry and weak pricing power such as steel, cement, capital goods and banks.
Northstar Financial Services Limited, a Bermuda based financial solutions firm announced that Mark Rogers is due to play a more prominent role going forwards and that the firm is to begin operations in the Middle East and Africa.
Mark joined Northstar as a Director in July 2015 but, in his new position as Vice Chairman, he will be more actively involved in the global activities of the company and will spearhead the Middle East and Africa initiative. Northstar is in the final stages of establishing its office for the Middle East and Africa in the DIFC and is set to make an announcement regarding the Key Representative to be based in the region imminently.
Northstar’s Head of Distribution, Alejandro Moreno commented: “Having enjoyed such a successful relationship as colleagues at our previous firm, I am thrilled to be working so closely alongside Mark again. His vast experience and global network of relationships should prove to be invaluable as we continue to enhance our product range and expand into new territories. The Middle East and Africa in particular represent a significant opportunity for Northstar and I look forward to working with Mark in those regions.”
Mark Rogers commented: “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to play a more central role at Northstar. With a robust operating history stretching back 17 years, a compelling range of products and a highly experienced team, Northstar is perfectly positioned to support the growing demand for international investment products.”
Ariel Bezalel, fund manager of Jupiter Dynamic Bond Fund, explains in this interview with Funds Society the opportunities he sees in the Fixed Income space.
In the current low yield scenario and bearing in mind the US rates hikes we are starting to see, do you believe fixed income still offers value?
We do not believe that the US Federal Reserve will hike rates aggressively this year. Nevertheless, our portfolio is defensively positioned and our allocation to high yield is the lowest it has been in a while. We see pockets of value in fixed income.
Are there more risks than opportunities in the bonds markets?
Policy mistakes by the US Fed, a China hard-landing and the broader emerging markets’ crisis are some of the risks in the bond markets at the moment. Opportunities persist and one of our top picks at the moment is local currency Indian sovereign bonds.
Is it harder than ever to be a fixed income manager?
We may be in a more challenging environment for bonds but the advantage of a strategic bond fund like ours is that we can move in and out of different fixed-income asset classes, helping us to steer clear of riskier areas.
Some managers in charge of mixed funds used to see the fixed income as a source of protection and returns. Do you believe that this asset plays now a much more limited role?
Fixed income can still provide protection for investors – default rates are far from recent highs.
Where can you find investment opportunities in fixed income right now (high yield, investment grade, public, private, senior loans…)? Any particular market or sector?
We are running a bar-bell strategy in the funds – in which we have a large allocation to low risk, highly rated government bonds and a balancing exposure to select higher-yielding opportunities. We like legacy bank capital and pub securitizations within the UK. Within EM, we like local currency Indian sovereign bonds, Russian hard currency corporate debt and Cypriot government bonds.
What is going to be the effect of the US interest rates hike we saw last week? Which will be the next steps of the Fed in 2016? Will we see a decoupling between the US and the European yields?
It will be several months before we can assess the impact of the Fed’s move on the US economy. However, a number of leading indicators suggest to us that the US economic recovery is less secure than is commonly believed. The Evercore ISI Company Surveys, a weekly sentiment gauge of American companies, has weakened this year and is currently hovering around 45, suggesting steady but not spectacular levels of output. The Atlanta Fed’s ‘nowcast’ model indicates underlying economic growth of 1.9% on an annualised basis in the fourth quarter, a level consistent with what many believe is a ‘new normal’ rate of US growth of between 1.5% and 2%.
More worryingly, the slowdown in global trade now appears to be affecting US manufacturing. The global economy is suffering from acute oversupply, not just in commodities but across a range of sectors, and industrial output in the US is now starting to roll over. In this climate, there is a genuine risk that the Fed will end up doing ‘one and done’. In some ways, it seems that the Fed is looking to atone for its failure to begin normalizing monetary policy earlier in the cycle, before the imbalances in the global financial system became so pronounced.
Longer term, the ability of central bankers to normalise policy is constrained by powerful deflationary forces, including aging demographics, high debt levels and the impact of disruptive technology and robotics, a reason why we are comfortable maintaining an above- consensus duration of over 5 years.
What are the forecasts for the emerging debt in 2016? Do you see a positive outlook for the bonds of any emerging country?
We have adopted a cautious stance towards emerging markets (EMs) recently at a time when many developing countries have been experiencing economic and financial headwinds. Currencies and bond markets in countries such as Brazil, Turkey and South Africa have been uncomfortable places for investors to be over the past 12 months as the strengthening US dollar, lower commodities prices and high dollar debt burdens have proved to be a toxic combination.
We have benefited though from situations where indiscriminate selling has left opportunities, and we have found a couple of stories that we really like.
In Russia, we have been investing selectively in short-dated names in the energy and resource sectors including Gazprom and Lukoil. Russian credit sold off last year as the conflict in Ukraine, the country’s involvement in Syria and the oil price sell-off caused the rouble to depreciate. Investor aversion towards Russia has meant we have been able to find companies with what we believe are double A and single A rated balance sheets whose bonds trade on a yield typically more appropriate for double B or single B credits.
India is another emerging market story we like. Monetary policy has become more prudent and consistent. Inflation has fallen from a peak of 11.2% in November 2013, aided by lower oil prices which has supported the rupee against major currencies. Our approach has therefore been to seek longer-duration local currency bonds. We rely on rigorous credit analysis to select what we believe are the right names, particularly as the quality of corporate governance remains low in India.
Will emerging currencies keep depreciating vs the US dollar?
With the US Fed raising rates in December and economic weakness persisting in emerging markets, we believe the trend will be for gradual depreciation of emerging currencies.
Which are the main risks for the fixed income market these days?
US Fed policy mistake, China hard-landing, emerging markets crisis.
We have seen a notorious crisis in the high yield market in the last weeks. What is exactly happening? Does the lack of liquidity concerns you?
Much was written at the end of last year concerning certain US funds that have frozen redemptions. In addition to this we have seen material outflows from US high yield mutual funds. We have been concerned about US high yield for some time, and have limited exposure to this market. Furthermore, the other concern we have had for a while is some sort of contagion to European credit as credit in emerging markets and US credit have continued to come under pressure. For this reason we have been reducing our European high yield exposure and within our high yield bucket we have been improving the quality and also preferring shorter dated paper.
Yes, liquidity has been the other big risk for the credit market. Due to regulatory reasons investment banks simply cannot support the markets as well as they did in the past. At this late stage of the credit cycle, and with the Fed tightening policy even further (the combination of a strong dollar and quantitative easing coming to an end in the US is a tightening of economic conditions in our opinion) caution is warranted.
What are the prospects for inflation in Europe? Do you see value in the inflation-linked bonds?
We think inflation will remain low in Europe driven by stagnating economic growth and lower oil prices. One of the key measures of inflation expectations, the 5y5y forward swap, demonstrates that investors do not expect inflation to increase materially.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, Flickr. Guillermo Ossés joins Man GLG as Head of Emerging Market Debt Strategies
Man GLG, the discretionary investment management business of Man Group plc, announced on Monday that Guillermo Ossés joined the firm as Head of Emerging Market Debt Strategies, based in New York.
Guillermo, who brings 24 years of experience in emerging markets fixed income investing to Man GLG, joins the firm from HSBC Asset Management. Guillermo joined HSBC in 2011 and led the firm’s emerging markets fixed income capabilities, managing in excess of $20 billion. Prior to this, Guillermo was an emerging markets fixed income portfolio manager at PIMCO and held emerging markets positions at Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank. He holds a BA in Business from Universidad Católica de Córdoba in Argentina and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.
The recruitment of Guillermo follows the acquisition of Silvermine and the recent hire of Himanshu Gulati last year, demonstrating Man GLG’s commitment to expanding its presence in the US, and further strengthening the firm’s capabilities.
Guillermo Ossés will report to Man GLG’s co-CEO Teun Johnston. According to whom, “it is with great pleasure that we welcome Guillermo to Man GLG. He has extensive experience in investment management and a distinctive investment process, alongside a proven track record of investing and managing investment teams in the emerging markets fixed income space. As Head of Emerging Market Debt Strategies, Guillermo will be instrumental in broadening our capabilities in the fixed income space and enhancing our client offering.”
Guillermo Ossés said: “Man GLG is a performance-focused business and its institutional framework, combined with an entrepreneurial environment and collaborative culture, make this a very compelling opportunity. I am very excited to be joining the firm, and working alongside Teun and his team as we strive to build a world class emerging markets fixed income investment management business.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Pictures of Money. Don't Fight Today's Markets With Tomorrow's Money
Crude oil has now fallen below $28 per barrel. Not so many months ago, no one could have predicted — or even imagined — that this commodity would drop from over $120 per barrel so far and so fast. And with this deep decline in the price of oil, the US dollar is rising and global trade is slowing.
It is still my strong contention that cheap oil means more spending and growth. But that isn’t happening yet.
So where do I stand now? Here are my new points:
The majority of the world’s economies seem to be faring a bit better. A number of the eurozone’s peripheral countries have shown signs of turnaround. And in the United States, we haven’t seen the excesses that are typically associated with the risk of recession.
Looking at history, recessions haven’t occurred because commodities are cheap — usually it’s the other way around. Many of the world’s consumers and producers ultimately stand to benefit from low energy costs.
This is not the same situation we faced in 2008, when we were on the brink of the global financial crisis. The global banking system is exposed to oil and China now, but not nearly in the proportions we saw with exposures to risky US mortgage debt then.
I do think the smoke will eventually clear on the business cycle. However, until we get more data to indicate whether the slowdown in manufacturing, the weakness in exports and the stutter step in earnings will persist, fear could rule the markets for riskier assets.
In this unsettled environment, with so many unknowns, there’s a risk of jumping into the global equity markets too early. An investor with new money may want to consider a more conservative asset mix to ride out this storm.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhotos: Pablo Blazquez. Funds Society celebrated its 3rd Anniversary party in Miami and presented its objectives for 2016
On January 14th, Funds Society celebrated its 3rd Anniversary party in Miami. The rain did not deter over 160 professionals from leading Asset and Wealth Management entities in Miami and New York that attended.
Some friends and readers from Mexico, Barcelona and Madrid, who did not want to miss the occasion, also joined us for the event. During the party, photos of which can be seen in the attached video, Funds Society presented a corporate video with last year’s main achievements and its objectives for 2016.
The latter includes the launch of a print magazine for the Spanish market following the success achieved by its US Offshore edition, and creating a directory for the Asset and Wealth Management sector, segmented by major regions in which Funds Society has a presence: US Offshore, Spain, and Latin America.
In 2016 Funds Society will hold its second edition of the Fund Selectors Summit in Miami during the month of April, to be followed in October by an event aimed at fund selectors in New York.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Carlos ZGZ
. Driving Mr. Andy
Uber, the U.S. ride-sharing company, has big plans for China, and it says the number of Uber trips there is almost as large as it is in the U.S. While Uber has raised more than US$1 billion for its standalone Chinese unit, its mainland market share is dwarfed by that of a local competitor, DiDi. But on a recent trip to China, I was less interested in the numbers than in discovering why some Chinese prefer to drive for the foreign underdog rather than the dominant, homegrown ride-hailing firm.
Same App, Same Credit Card
I was impressed to discover that I could use the U.S. app to request an Uber ride in Shanghai, and bill it to my American credit card already on file. For my first trip, Mr. Xie pulled up in a new Toyota, bemused to see that his passenger was a foreigner. He’d only been driving for Uber for a few days, but was enthusiastic. “My main business is P2P (peer-to-peer) lending, and all of the work is at night, taking prospective clients to dinner and drinking. So I have lots of free time during the day,” he told me.
Mr. Xie was keen to chat about his private lending business. So keen, in fact, that he missed the exit to get us into the tunnel under the Huangpu River, adding 20 minutes to my journey as we were swallowed up in traffic.
He said he hoped that driving for Uber would be a great way to meet new borrowers, and that attracted him more than the pay. “I started driving for DiDi, but the customers were not really the kind I’d want to lend to. Uber riders are richer, so I’m sticking with Uber,” he added. Mr. Xie noted that lots of foreigners also use Uber, but he didn’t think they would end up borrowing from him.
Rich and Bored
While the original Uber app worked well in Shanghai, all of the communications were in Chinese, which might be an obstacle for all but the most adventurous foreigner. But a few days after returning to the U.S., I received a message from Uber: “We’re thrilled to bring you a language-specific service, ENGLISH, to make it a bit easier for expats and global travelers to get around the city [of Shanghai].” According to the message, you just open the app and enter the referral code “zaishanghai” (meaning “in Shanghai”) and then “unlock the English option.”
My second driver in Shanghai rolled up in a brand new Mercedes sports coupe. Mr. Zhang looked like he was about 23 years old, and I couldn’t help but start the conversation by asking why a young guy with a very expensive car was driving for Uber. “Well, my dad has a successful business, so I haven’t had to get a job . . . and I’m bored. One of my friends told me I could meet interesting people driving for Uber,” he said.
I asked how that was working out. “Well, today is my first day,” he replied. “But it is pretty cool to drive a foreigner.” I’d be surprised if he lasted more than a couple of days.
My Own Boss
Mr. Wang was more experienced, having driven his Buick for Uber for a few months. Prior to that, he drove for a company, but he quit for the freedom to set his own schedule. Initially, Mr. Wang drove for DiDi, although he said, “I make more money with Uber, and the customers are better.” He thought many riders were switching to Uber from DiDi, because it is easier to get a car. “DiDi drivers can see the customer’s destination before they pick him up, so often they will reject a fare they don’t like, while with Uber, we don’t know until the customer gets into our car,” he said.
Not a Cop
When I climbed into Mr. Zhou’s Toyota Camry, he said he was thrilled to discover that his next passenger was a foreigner. “This business isn’t really legal, and other drivers have told me that cops are ordering rides and then fining drivers 10,000 renmimbi (RMB or US$1,570). And when I saw you, I knew you couldn’t be a cop!”
Mr. Zhou told me that his son, who is studying in the U.S., bought the car for him specifically so he could drive for Uber. I asked if he was retired. “Ha, no. But I work for a state-owned company, which is almost like being retired! I’ve got nothing to do all day, so I just leave the office and drive to make extra cash!”
Better than Driving a Truck
Mr. Luo quit his job driving a truck to join the ride-sharing economy. He told me he started with DiDi, but said Uber passengers are “better behaved,” something I heard frequently from drivers who couldn’t really explain the difference.
He said the money was okay, taking home RMB700 (US$110) for a 12-hour day of driving.
Better than Driving a Taxi
Mr. Yu gave up a long career as a taxi driver to strike out on his own. He also started with DiDi, but switched to Uber because “DiDi charged me too many fees. Either is much better than a taxi. More relaxing as there is no boss, and I can take a break anytime. And Uber passengers are much better than taxi passengers,” he said. He estimated that he took home about RMB7,000 (US$1,099) a month driving for Uber.
The Long Haul
Overall, the Shanghai Uber experience was pretty good. Two drivers never appeared—I watched as one drove by without stopping, possibly assuming that a foreigner couldn’t have been the customer—and in both cases I was automatically charged a cancellation fee of RMB10 (US$1.60). But when I filed a complaint through the app, those fees were immediately refunded.
The fares were ridiculously low, presumably due to large subsidies from Uber as they try to grab market share from DiDi. That will be just one of the many challenges the American firm faces in the future, along with an uncertain regulatory environment, and the issue of retaining drivers after the novelty wears off.
Andy Rothman is Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Achim Hepp
. LVMH, Catterton and Groupe Arnault Partner to Create a Global Consumer-Focused Private Equity Firm
Catterton, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm, LVMH, the world leader in high-quality products, and Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of Bernard Arnault, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to create L Catterton. The new partnership will combine Catterton’s existing North American and Latin American private equity operations with LVMH and Groupe Arnault’s existing European and Asian private equity and real estate operations, currently conducted under the L Capital and L Real Estate franchises. Under the terms of this agreement, L Catterton will be 60% owned by the partners of L Catterton and 40% jointly owned by LVMH and Groupe Arnault.
L Catterton will become the largest global consumer-focused investment firm with six distinct and complementary fund strategies focusing on consumer buyout and growth investments across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, in addition to prime commercial real estate globally. L Catterton, a firm with a 27-year history and more than 120 investment and operating professionals in 17 offices across five continents, expects to grow its assets under management to more than $12 billion after various successor funds are closed.
L Catterton’s headquarters will be in Greenwich, CT and London, with regional offices across Europe, Asia and Latin America and will be led by Global Co-CEOs J. Michael Chu and Scott A. Dahnke, currently Managing Partners at Catterton. Each fund will continue to be managed by its own dedicated team in their respective locations across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
“We are delighted to partner with Catterton and its team,” said Mr. Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH and Groupe Arnault. ” Having been investors in Catterton’s funds since 1998, we have participated in its growth and success, evidenced by its strong track record and its distinctive culture. I would also like especially to thank Daniel Piette whose entrepreneurship and leadership have been instrumental in creating and developing the L Capital franchise over the past 15 years. I very much look forward to continuing to collaborate with him at LVMH.”
Mr. Chu said, “We look forward to benefitting from the strength and global reach of the team at L Capital and L Real Estate as we continue to seek out investment opportunities with significant growth potential.”
“The globalization of media and technology, combined with increasingly permeable geographic borders, is driving rapid consumer growth on an unprecedented global scale,” said Mr. Dahnke. The transaction is expected to close early in 2016, subject to customary regulatory and certain investor approvals.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: pedronchi
. Lazard Launches US Fundamental Alternative Fund
Lazard Asset Management announced the launch of the Lazard US Fundamental Alternative Fund. The Fund, which is UCITS compliant, is a liquid and diversified portfolio primarily focused on US securities, with the flexibility to invest across the whole market cap spectrum. Utilising bottom-up stock selection, the Fund seeks to take long positions in equities of companies believed to have strong and/ or improving financial productivity and attractive valuations, and short positions in companies with deteriorating fundamentals, unattractive valuations, or other qualities warranting a short position.
The Fund will be managed in New York by portfolio managers Dmitri Batsev and Jerry Liu, who leverage a dedicated and highly experienced US equity investment team. The team, which is made up of 23 investment professionals, has an average of 18 years of investment experience and 12 years at LAM.
“In our view it is financial productivity that ultimately drives the valuation of companies.” said Dmitri Batsev, portfolio manager of the Lazard US Fundamental Alternative Fund. “We believe that forward-looking fundamental analysis is key to valuing these opportunities, both when stocks rise and when stocks fall.”
Jerry Liu said: “Expanding the US opportunity set to both longs and shorts allows us to create a differentiated portfolio of investments, seeking to provide investors with strong down-market protection, up-market participation, and lower volatility than the overall market.”
