Pixabay CC0 Public DomainRicardo Castillo, courtesy photo. Castillo, Pacheco Romero, Martin Cazenave and Pitre Méndez Join Credit Suisse IWM's LatAm Team
Credit Suisse IWM (International Wealth Management) is strengthening its LatAm operations. So far this year they have made five appointments that will be focused on the region.
According to a memo seen by Funds Society, which was written by Credit Suisse IWM’s LatAm Head, Jorge Fernández Amann: “The Latin American region is of key importance to IWM’s growth strategy. The future of IWM LatAm lies in the growth potential of our franchise across all our markets: Mexico, Cono Sur, Comunidad Andina, and LatAm-based External Asset Managers. Our clients look to us for our unique strength that combines best-in-class wealth management services, institutional capabilities, as well as UHNWI-specific solutions. This differentiation has driven growth in the region and is also attracting new talent. To grow our regional capabilities further we need to not only develop our internal talent pool but also attract external talent and I am excited to announce a number of appointments in IWM LatAm.”
In his opinion, in order to deliver best-in-class solutions to their clients, a robust Advisory & Sales organization is key, so they have hired, former JPMorgan Ricardo Castillo as Head of Advisory & Sales and member of the IWM LatAm Management Committee, effective immediately. “He will also lead the Investment Consulting team for ConoSur. Ricardo has a proven track record of more than 15 years in various investment roles: Investment advisory and sales, asset allocation across asset classes and tactical and/or thematic trading and hedging solutions. More recently he was Global Investment Specialist covering UHNWI, notably for Chile and Argentina. With Ricardo’s experience in international financial markets, I am confident that he will take our A&S offering to the next level. Ricardo will be located in Geneva.” Said the memo.
Also for the Geneva office, looking to serve both Cono Sur and Comunidad Andina clients, coordinated by Daniel Clavijo, are three more hires that report to Wenceslao Browne:
Marco Pacheco Romero joins as Senior Relationship Manager for ConoSur. He specifically covers Argentina, Chile and Peru and has a combined 20 years of experience in Private Banking, Lending, and Hedge funds. He also led credit teams in the past and will have an additional role to focus on growing our UHNWI-focused strategy as Head of Lending, where he will be part of our Management Committee.
Andrés Martin Cazenave joins as Senior Relationship Manager for ConoSur focusing on Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Colombia. Andrés has more than 25 years of wealth management and investment expertise across several institutions in Switzerland, the US, and Argentina. More recently he covered markets mainly from Cono Sur (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) after being in charge of developing Comunidad Andina markets in the past (Colombia, Ecuador, Central America).
Rodrigo Pitre Méndez joins as Senior Relationship Manager for Cono Sur. Rodrigo has 20 years of private banking experience in Argentina, Bahamas, Uruguay, the US, and more recently Switzerland, where he has lived since 2013. In 2013 he moved from Miami, where he had spent 4 years developing an Argentine book to join another institution in Geneva. Since 2013 he has been in charge of developing a book for Cono Sur.
In January, the company hired Maria Vega Ibañez De La Cruz as Zurich-based deputy head of client management for ConoSur.
Pixabay CC0 Public DomainPhoto: KnutEgil1966 . Prodigy Network Surpasses 500 Million Dollars In Securitized Assets Through Flexfunds
Incorporating real estate assets as part of investment diversification is essential, which is why investors are increasingly analyzing alternatives that are not correlated with markets for stocks and bonds. Global platforms for investment and real estate asset development, such as Prodigy Network utilizing FlexFunds‘ asset securitization program, provide corporations, families and individuals access to institutional – quality investment opportunities in commercial real estate assets in the United States.
Prodigy Network has managed to raise funds in excess of US$ 690 million, connecting more than 6,500 investors from 42 countries and 27 states in the U.S. Its portfolio, with a projected value of US $1 billion, includes 6 buildings in Manhattan and 2 in Chicago, Illinois.
FlexFunds has securitized more than 25 assets and real estate projects for Prodigy Networks, surpassing US$ 500 million since their relationship began in 2013, becoming a flexible solution to enable real estate developers to access international capital markets. Both private and institutional investors can participate in these projects through their already existing private bank or brokerage accounts.
According to Lisandro Videla, Vice President for Distribution at Prodigy Network, “FlexFunds’ securitization program has transformed our business, offering a new distribution channel for our projects. Through Private Banking we have connected thousands of investors all over the world to investments of institutional quality to which they did not have access previously; this accounts for a substantial part of the success of our business model which has made us a byword in the real estate industry. In addition, FlexFunds has endowed the investment structure with a new level of auditing and control.”
FlexFunds CEO Mario Rivero had this to say: “As a leading service provider in asset securitization for third parties, FlexFunds gives access to capital markets globally. To securitize their assets with FlexFunds, our clients must comply with strict legal and operating requirements, so we congratulate Prodigy Networks for surpassing US$ 500 million in securitized real estate assets. This is one illustration of how suitable FlexFunds solutions can be for real estate developers.”
Pixabay CC0 Public DomainCourtesy photo. Return of the Fed Put
Birth of the Fed Put A put, is an option that increases in value when the underlying security’s price falls below a certain level. One of its most common usages is to protect a portfolio against a market decline.
The famous “Fed put” refers to the notion that the Federal Reserve will take action to support the equity market in times of increased risk and volatility. Since Alan Greenspan became chairman of the Fed during the 1980s, there has been a definitive pattern of the central bank increasing liquidity during times of crisis. This includes taking action to inject liquidity during major downturns in an effort to “fix” the stock market. Each successive time that the Fed does this, investors have become further reliant on this free put option. Eventually, the Fed put became priced in, pushing equity valuations higher and encouraging investors to take excessive risk. This has led to many criticisms of the Fed put for creating “moral hazard.”
Originally, the Fed put was known as the “Greenspan put.” When Mr. Greenspan finally retired in 2006 after leading the Fed for almost 2 decades, Ben Bernanke and then Janet Yellen both continued his policy of taking action to support the markets during times of crisis. This led to the Greenspan put morphing into what we now know as the Fed put.
When President Trump appointed Jerome Powell as the 16th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in early 2018, investors assumed he would continue the tradition of the Fed put. Investors were even willing to tolerate (albeit grudgingly) further interest rate increases by the Fed as long as they knew that the Fed put remained in place. With this understanding in place, Jerome Powell was able to increase the Fed’s target rate every quarter, which was a much faster pace than his predecessor Janet Yellen had done.
Death of the Fed Put
As the Fed raised rates throughout 2018 while imposing quantitative tightening through the reduction of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, President Trump openly criticized both Powell and the Fed. The President warned that the higher rates were going to choke off economic growth. Of course, these criticisms went mainly unheeded by the Fed as it maintained its independence from the President and steadfastly kept on its course to raise rates.
In October of 2018, Jerome Powell shocked the markets with the “we’re a long way from neutral” interest rates comment. The market was already dealing with the lingering trade war with China, the threat of a global economic slowdown, and the waning economic tailwind of the tax cuts in the US. Powell’s comments shook many investors faith in the Fed put as many feared the Fed was not acknowledging the many issues while continuing on its path to raise rates. In December, Powell doubled down on his comments from October saying that the Fed would stay the course on increasing rates and would continue to shrink its balance sheet at the same pace. This sent an already struggling market into another tail-spin that culminated in the Christmas Eve decline that saw the Dow Jones plunge more than 650 points.
This prompted David Tepper, who manages $14 billion at Appaloosa Management, to say, “Powell basically told you the Fed put is dead.” The market agreed with this sentiment, as it appeared the Fed was prepared to let the market fall without even attempting to intervene.
Return of the Fed Put
“Feel the market, don’t just go by meaningless numbers.” President Donald Trump’s tweet to the Fed
However, the market had not been completely forsaken by Powell. In early January, Powell abruptly changed his tune (maybe he was finally convinced by Trump’s tweets to feel the market) and acknowledged that the Fed will be closely watching market signals and will be patient with its monetary policy approach.
Powell also indicated that the Fed would be willing to adjust its balance sheet reduction efforts if needed, which sounded a lot like he was willing to inject liquidity in the system if the markets took another downturn. Investors that had feared the Fed was being to hawkish and was going to kill the economy, shouted a collective hallelujah as the market rallied strongly on the recognition that the Fed put was back!
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: EAST Miami. Aswath Damodaran to Visit Miami for an Exclusive Event on Valuations
Ignacio Pakciarz, Founding Partner and CEO of Bigsur Partners, is organizing an evening with the Dean of the Stern School of Business at NYU, Professor Raghu Sundaram as well as with Professor Aswath Damodaran the “Dean of Valuations.”
Towards the end of February, friends and clients of Bigsur partners will meet up in Miami in an exclusive event, to discuss about valuations and Bigsur’s market outlook.
“We are very excited to have Professor Damodaran, a captivating speaker with compelling ideas and a unique understanding of current asset pricing, valuation and investor sentiment.” Bigsur mentions.
Professor Damodaran teaches Corporate Finance and Valuation at the NYU Stern School of Business. He specializes in equity valuation and earned the name of Wallstreet’s “Dean of Valuation”. He recently published a paper with Professor Bradford Cornell on valuing Tesla: “Tesla: Anatomy of a Run-Up Value Creation or Investor Sentiment?” This publication was awarded the Bernstein-Levy readers’ award in the Journal of Portfolio Management. He has also published several other enthralling papers and books such as “The Dark Side of Valuation: Valuing Young, Distressed, and Complex Businesses”.
Foto cedidaUnicorn's US Offshore team. From left to right: Mike Kearns, David Ayastuy, Renata Parra and Luis Alvarez. With BNY Mellon IM, Unicorn Has All the Partners it Wants in US Offshore and LatAm Retail
Unicorn Strategic Partners continues to grow. The firm led by David Ayastuy will be responsible for promoting and distributing the UCITS funds of BNY Mellon Investment Management in the US Offshore market. In addition, they have signed Renata Parra, ex-HSBC, as responsible for client services.
Unicorn, with offices in Madrid, Miami, New York, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, will initially focus on servicing BNY Mellon IM assets already on the market, seeking to intensify the company’s presence in the portfolios of family offices, institutional investors and fund platforms in the region.
BNY Mellon, with its multi-boutique model, in addition to the 40Act versions, has more than 50 UCITS funds with exposure to most asset classes. As Luis Álvarez told Funds Society, “there is a great demand from the market in the liquid alts part, it is something that with BNY Mellon we will be able to promote very actively with its Global Real Return Fund”.
Sasha Evers, managing director at BNY Mellon IM for Iberia, Latin America and US offshore mentioned: “We are very excited to be partnering with Unicorn to establish and develop our presence in the US offshore market where we see many opportunities to provide investors with access to leading global investment capabilities. We will provide Unicorn with a range of relevant products managed by our world-class investment specialists, as well as all of the necessary resources and support to enable them to provide the highest quality client service in the local market.”
In an interview, Ayastuy added that it is a great honor to include BNY Mellon IM among its partners and that they are extremely happy with the results they are having when promoting the Vontobel and Muzinich strategies. He also mentioned that, with the addition of BNY Mellon IM, Unicorn does not want to add any other partners in US Offshore and/or LatAm retail “because our way of working is a way of partnership and we want to be able to be an extension of the firms. With BNY and Vontobel we are covered for US Offshore and with Vontobel and Muzinich we are covered for LatAm retail,” he says adding that they would be open to increasing the number of partners in institutional LatAm.
Foto cedidaEdouard Carmignac. Edouard Carmignac Leaves his Company's Day-to-Day Operations
Carmignac’s President and Founder, Edouard Carmignac, has decided to leave its Patrimoine fund management team as well as his company’s day-to-day operations. In a press conference in Paris today, he mentioned that the transition will be gradual and that he will try to work more efficiently but leaving the day-to-day to a very competent team. He will remain on the firm he founded as CIO and member of the Board.
Earlier this week, he announced that after almost 30 years running it, he has decided to pass on the stewardship of the 16 billion dollar fund to Rose Ouahba, Head of Fixed Income, and David Older, Head of Equities.
Accourding to the company: “30 years after the creation of Carmignac, the investment philosophy of Carmignac Patrimoine remains the same. David and Rose, as sole Fund Managers, have fully embraced their partnership and are focused on reinforcing alpha generation with specific attention to risk management in this challenging global environment.”
Last month he gave David Older the leadership of his 3 billion dollar Investissement fund.
David Older joined Carmignac in 2015 as Fund Manager and was later appointed Head of Equities in 2017. “Expert on global technology, telecoms and media, his considerable experience in alpha generation and long-short management is key in a challenging environment.”
Before joining Carmignac, David Older spent 2003-2015 at SAC Capital/Point72 Advisors in New York, as co-Sector Head of the Communications, Media, Internet and Technology team. Prior to this, David was an Investment Banking Associate in the Communications and Media group at Morgan Stanley. David received a Bachelor of Arts at McGill University and holds a MBA from Columbia University.
Rose Ouahba joined Carmignac in 2007 as Fund Manager to take over the bond component of Carmignac Patrimoine. She was appointed as Head of Fixed Income in 2011. “Rose has been reinforcing and reorganizing the team to strengthen our unique “unconstrained” investment philosophy.”
She started her career as Bond Fund Manager at Ecureuil Gestion in 1996 and joined IXIS Asset Management 3 years later, as Head of the “Bond diversification” team and, subsequently, Head of Structured Credit Allocation. Rose holds a Postgraduate DESS in Financial Engineering from the University of Paris XII.
Carmignac Patrimoine is the original fund of the Patrimoine strategy. In 2013, they launched Carmignac Portfolio Patrimoine, a sub-fund of the Luxembourg Carmignac Portfolio SICAV. Carmignac Patrimoine and Carmignac Portfolio Patrimoine share the same investment strategy, portfolio construction and the same management process.
Wikimedia CommonsFrédéric Lamotte, Photo Linkedin. Indosuez Wealth Management names new Chief Executive Officer for CA Indosuez Wealth (Miami) and Global Head of Americas
Frédéric Lamotte has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of CA Indosuez Wealth (Miami) and Global Head of Americas at Indosuez Wealth Management, the global wealth management brand of Crédit Agricole group. He assumed these roles at the beginning of this year and is based in Miami.
This appointment demonstrates Indosuez Wealth Management’s continued commitment to the Americas and the intention to further develop its wealth management activities in this key market.
Frédéric Lamotte had been Chief Investment Officer at Indosuez Wealth Management group since 2012.
His international experience and his extensive banking expertise will benefit the bank in developing synergies between all of Crédit Agricole group’s businesses in the region.
Frédéric joined Banque Indosuez in 1988 as a member of the ALM department of Saudi French Bank. He then moved to Crédit Agricole Indosuez’s Singapore subsidiary in 1993 as Head of Derivatives before becoming Head of Capital Markets and Derivatives for the Tokyo subsidiary. In 1997, he was appointed Head of Advisory and Structured Products at Crédit Agricole Suisse and later took over as Head of Markets and Investment Solutions at Indosuez Wealth Management Switzerland in 2007.
He is a graduate of Ecole Centrale de Paris and holds a Master’s in International Finance from HEC.
Foto cedidaCourtesy photo. Allfunds Hires Three Executives to Boost its International Expansion
European funds platform Allfunds has appointed three senior executives in a moved aimed at boosting its international expansion and further accelerate its development.
Luigi Lubelli, formerly Group Chief Financial Officer and member of the Group Management Committee of Assicurazioni Generali will become Allfunds’ new Chief Financial Officer. Having developed his management career at Mapfre, Morgan Stanley, Citibank and Banco Exterior de España (now BBVA), Lubelli will form part of the Allfunds Executive Committee and will focus on steering Allfunds towards its new value creation objectives, as well as on monitoring the achievement of its business goals.
George Yaryurais a strategic marketer with over 20 years’ experience in developing high impact product strategies, driving transformation and business growth for global tech brands. He joins as the new Chief Product Officer and will also serve on the Allfunds Executive Committee.
Jorge Calviño, appointed Chief People Officer, brings with him a wealth of experience in human resources having developed his career in different people roles with leading international businesses such as Gillette, Amadeus, L’Oréal, Microsoft, Beiersdorf and, most recently, Alain Afflelou. He will also be part of the Allfunds Executive Committee.
Allfunds’ CEO Juan Alcaraz said:”Allfunds is in the process of transformation, of constant change and expansion – enhancing our offering to both our distribution clients and the fund management industry. To maintain our focus and momentum, we must seek out the best people from around the world to ensure we continue on our path to become the leading wealth-tech company in the investment industry. I am therefore delighted to welcome Luigi, George and Jorge into these all-important roles.”
Photo: Abi Barber. Thornburg Investment Management Launches Two UCITS Funds
Thornburg Investment Management has now a suite of eight fixed income and equity strategies on Thornburg’s UCITS platform. It has recently added both the Thornburg Long / Short Equity Fund and the Thornburg Strategic Income Fund.
The Thornburg Long/Short Equity Fund is co-managed by Connor Browne and Bimal Shah. The fund applies a bottom-up, fundamental security selection approach that is focused, diversified, and based on high conviction. Its portfolio is concentrated, with typically 30 to 40 stocks in both the long and short portions of the portfolio. The fund, domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, is based on an investment strategy launched in 2008, currently available to investors through separately managed accounts and a U.S. mutual fund structure.
Connor Browne, co-portfolio manager of the Fund, said: “Recent market volatility highlights the need for investors to have a permanent allocation to alternatives in their investment portfolios. Our Fund provides traditional long/short equity, hedge- fund-like exposure in a vehicle with daily liquidity. Notably, we have added value on both the long and short sides of our investment book since inception, and this sets us apart from many of our competitors.”
Carter Sims, managing director and head of global distribution at Thornburg mentioned: “The recent spike in volatility provides investors with new entry points to tap into a top-performing U.S. long/short equity strategy and the resources of highly respected and successful portfolio managers.”
The Thornburg Strategic Income Fund is managed by Jason Brady, Lon Erickson, Christian Hoffmann, and Jeff Klingelhofer and supported by Thornburg’s 40-person investment team. The Fund’s diversified portfolio is constructed with income-producing, relative-value investments that exhibit strong underlying credit fundamentals.
According to Jason Brady, president and CEO at Thornburg and co-portfolio manager of the Fund: “This Fund expands upon our legacy of providing investors with a stable source of competitive return, and a disciplined and balanced allocation in changing market environments.”
“Demand for diversified, relative value, fixed income portfolios continues to grow among global investors. The launch of Thornburg Strategic Income Fund signals our ommitment to providing our international partners access to Thornburg’s decades of fixed income experience,” added Sims.
Foto cedida. Andrea Orcel Will Not Become Banco Santander 's CEO
Following a board meeting on January 15th, the Grupo Santander Board announced that Andrea Orcel’s appointment to the role of Group CEO will not proceed.
The Board of Santander made the decision to appoint Andrea Orcel in September 2018. In light of his seniority, along with regulatory, legal and contractual considerations, an early announcement of the appointment was necessary, subject to the usual conditions, including a six-month garden leave.
At that time, the Board of Santander had agreed the terms of his annual remuneration in his future role at Santander, which were in line with that of José Antonio Álvarez. It was not, however, possible, to determine in advance the final cost of the Group’s share of compensating Orcel for the remuneration awards, made to him by his previous employer, that would have been foregone. The Board therefore proceeded with the appointment on the basis of a considered estimate of the likely cost to Santander, based on advice, precedent and expectations of mitigation, due to the nature of the relationship between the two organizations and the different activities carried out by each institution.
In recent months, discussions have been taking place over the terms of Orcel’s departure from his previous employer. It has now become clear that the cost to Santander of compensating Orcel for the deferred awards he has earned over the past seven years, and other benefits previously awarded to him, would be a sum significantly above the Board’s original expectations at the time of the appointment.
The Board considers that for Santander to pay this amount to facilitate the hiring of one individual, even one of the calibre and background of Orcel, would be unacceptable for a retail and commercial bank such as Santander. This is particularly so in light of Santander’s values and its responsibilities to its wider stakeholders and the societies in which it operates. As such, it has been decided by the Board that it would not be right to proceed with the appointment.
José Antonio Álvarez, who has remained in the role since the announcement and his anticipated transition in March to Chairman of Santander Spain, will continue to serve in this role without change. He will also serve as Vice Chairman of the Board.
Rodrigo Echenique, who is due to retire from his current role as Chairman of Santander Spain in March, will remain until a successor is named.
Ana Botin, Executive Chairman of the Board said: “Santander is a retail and commercial bank with significant responsibilities to the societies in which it operates. In making this decision we have had to balance the respect we have for all of our stakeholders – the millions of people, customers and shareholders we serve – with the very significant cost of hiring one individual, even one as talented as Andrea, by compensating for the loss of a significant proportion of seven years of his past remuneration. The Board and I are certain that this decision, although difficult to take, is the right one. “On a personal note, my colleagues and I were looking forward to working with Andrea. We all wish him every success in the future. We, as a Group, are fortunate to have José Antonio who has agreed to continue as CEO. I know we will work together as well as we have over the past four years, delivering profitable growth as more and more customers trust us to help them prosper. We will present our strategic update to the market together later this year in what we both believe is an exciting opportunity ahead of Santander.”
