Both Mariscal Lozano and Bestard arrive from UBS’s Coral Gables office.
As for Bestard, who has more than 25 years in the Miami industry, he has worked at UBS since 2013 when he arrived from Morgan Stanley where he served from 2007 to 2013, according to his BrokerCheck records.
The advisor started in 1997 at Lehman Brothers where he worked for 10 years until 2007.
Mariscal Lozano started in 1999 at Lehman Brothers and moved to Morgan Stanley in 2007 where he worked until 2013 when he moved to UBS. Always based in Miami, according to his Finra profile.
Finally, Rivera, also with Miami experience, started at Morgan Stanley between 2008 and 2015. He then moved in 2015 to Jefferies until late last year, according to BrokerCheck.
Foto cedidaParesh Upadhyaya, Director of Fixed Income and Currency Strategy at Amundi AM.. Paresh Upadhyaya (Amundi): "Mi apuesta es que la Fed seguirá subiendo los tipos hasta septiembre"
Paresh Upadhyaya is Fixed Income and Currency Strategy director and a portfolio manager at Amundi Asset Management. He also leads Amundi Pioneer’s currency research effort from Boston and advises the firm’s global fixed income and equity investment staff on currency-related issues. With a degree in economics and international relations from Boston University and an MBA in finance from Boston College, he has held multiple senior positions at other asset managers and is an authority on fixed income and equity investing, sovereign debt, currencies and monetary policy. On 8 March, Funds Society had the opportunity to interview Mr Upadhyaya to discuss the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, especially the influence of this crisis on inflation, global monetary policies, fixed income and currency investment, as well as the company´s strategy for the current environment.
Fernando Moldenhauer, for Funds Society: Mr Upadhyaya, inevitably the first question has to be about the impact that the current situation in Ukraine is prompting on global economy. As you know we already came from an increasing inflation situation that has been now exacerbated by hikes on energy and commodities prices. We also have the sanctions issue, so the question is: how this situation is going to impact on global economy and on global stock markets? Can it pose a threat to the post-COVID recovery?
Paresh Upadhyaya: Great question. I think what we’re seeing is a geopolitical shock to the global economy. Global economy growth expectations, estimated at 4%, have been cut by at least half a percent or more. The surge in commodity prices is going to hurt, particularly countries that are big importers of commodities, especially oil importers. The other transmission mechanism for slowing global growth is through tightening financial conditions. Financial conditions have been excessively accommodative throughout the world, but those conditions are now beginning to tighten. Global monetary policy began to tighten up last year, but this year is going to start to gain more momentum with the US and the G10 economies entering the tightening cycle, joining much of the emerging markets that began their tightening cycle last year. So the combination of all those factors is going to lead to a weaker growth. I think we are still growing above the trend, but the risks are clearly to the downside and the greater the potential escalation in the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the greater the uncertainty.
FM: Given the current situation. Do you think the FED and other central banks will postpone their tightening policies in an attempt to soften the crisis?
PU:The issue that I think all central banks are facing and this is especially true for the Fed and the ECB, is that inflation has overshot their forecasts by multiples, not just a little, but by a lot. And there are a number of factors that go beyond just very strong domestic growth. The supply chains have aggravated the inflation situation, the demand for goods caused by the pandemic that have really driven up goods prices and energy. In the US we have the tightest labor market in decades while in Europe the unemployment rate is actually below the pre pandemic levels and we could see wages really began to pick up beginning September onwards.
Headline inflation is over 7% and will keep increasing, only starting to rolling over in late Q2 or early Q3. In the US, the risk of a wage inflation spiral is a fact. All of that suggests that even if the Fed wants to be a bit cautious given the external events with Russia, the domestic inflation situation, which is really a global issue, will prevent them from going slowly or more cautiously on rate hikes. So I think at the March meeting the Fed will hike by 25 basis points, and if I was to hazard a guess, my bias is still that the Fed will continue to hike at every meeting and maybe in September they will began to reevaluate if they continue the hiking at every meeting or not.
FM: We have recently seen the first movements of an approach between US and Venezuela government to study the possibility of increasing the Venezuelan oil imports to counter an eventual ban on Russian imports. Would that be an effective measure to avoid the negative effects of the prices hike?
PU: Venezuela is one that is believed to have one of the largest, if not the largest, untapped reserves of oil in the world. But Venezuela is only one of the countries where we can see sort of an increase in output. The other big 800 pound gorilla in the room is Iran, and there was some optimism among some that this may actually increase the odds of an Iranian nuclear deal, which would allow for a huge increase in supply to come into the markets. There are also rumors of President Biden flying out to Saudi Arabia to meet with Mohammed Bin Salman to try to see if Saudi Arabians can boost their output. All of that will not be enough to offset Russia, which is one of the top five largest exporting markets, but it would certainly help alleviate the situation.
FM: Let´s focus now on Amundi Asset Management´s experience with Rusia. Do you still have exposure to the country or you had already left it before the crisis? Did the sanctions impacted you?
PU: Fortunately we were not positioned in Russia. We have been investing in Russia over the last 10 years, but it has always been more tactical than strategic. We actually got out of those bonds on the local currency bonds about a year ago for fear of potential sanctions bills by the US Senate. We weren’t sure when the US would turn on and pass those bills, but one thing that has been sort of a constant trend when analyzing the Russian credit is the threat of sanctions that has been hanging over the country´s head since the invasion of Crimea.
FM: Let’s now open the door for a more in-depth analysis of fixed income markets. How do you think all this situation is impacting this particular sector?
PU: There is this tug of war that’s taking place between geopolitics that is giving a clear flight to quality safe haven status to sovereign bonds, like US treasuries. The precarious inflation situation is very destabilizing as a macro force, and it´s putting upward pressure on yields. Therefore, you will notice that the price action in US Treasuries and in global yields in general, has been very choppy, with sharp spikes up and down.
I think the general bias is that once we get a better handle of the situation or the markets have fully priced in the most likely outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian event, yields will continue to move higher, and therefore we favor being underweight duration in a lot of our core strategies. I would say that we’re still not there yet because I still think there could be a potential series of escalations that could lead to further rallies in Treasuriess or further flight to quality to Treasuries.
FM: As the company´s director of Fixed Income, what can you tell us about Amundi´s approach and latest products on fixed income. Is there any innovation or fund in particular you would like to present to the audience?
PU:So I would say there is a flagship fund, which is this strategic income fund, which is the one that I directly help to manage. And there, as I described earlier, our core strategic holding is to remain underweight duration, to be cautious on spread product, especially at investment grade, where we remain underweight because we think from a valuation perspective it´s hard for us to see yields fall any further. Once the Fed begins its tightening cycle, we think investment grade spreads will widen. On the other hand, we are overweight in high yield spreads, because we are cautiously optimistic that high yield can avoid some other churn that could take place.
FM: What about emerging markets? Given the current situation, is it a good idea to invest on them? What´s the Amundi vision on fixed income and currency investment in emerging markets right now?
PU: I would say that for emerging markets I think we’re going to be cautious for the moment, but emerging market equities and emerging market fixed income securities are already among the worst performing, if not the worst performing asset class in markets. So there is a good deal of pessimism that I would say is already reflected in emerging markets securities. Not to say it can’t get worse, there’s always a risk it could get worse, but I think we’re getting to the point that I think is going to begin to attract bottom fishing in various asset classes. I think what we need some more clarity on the Russian-Ukrainian war. Does this remain localized or is it starting to expand beyond the current war zone? That I think will really answer the question whether this is the time to start buying emerging markets across the board or if it´s time to start buying EM currencies against the dollar and selling the dollar against G10 currencies.
FM: OK, good. So I guess for your answer that you are cautious about the evolution of the euro and the dollar, you think they are going to be resilient. So can you talk a little bit about the new strategies, new approaches that Amundi is presenting regarding currency investment, or your current favorite products or vehicles of currency investment?
PU: On the currency side, you know the dollar has been on a bull market that I think will receive renewed momentum during the Russian-Ukrainian war as a dollar bill benefited from flight to quality. But I I think that the market is now beginning to price in a pretty healthy tightening cycle by the Fed, though I think we still have more to go to take us back to neutral and then even to restrictive territory. So there is still a little more upside to go in the dollar, but I think we’re getting close to where we may be seeing a consolidation in the dollar bull market and I would be looking for opportunities to begin to fade.
Foto cedidaEvento Global Markets Outlook de StoneX
Copyright: Stonex. ..
StoneX held its Global Markets Outlook at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando on March 3rd, where they presented the most important topics to watch out for this year.
In a context of inescapable war, the most important topics were based on inflation, ESG investment, commodity prices and the explosion of the crypto world.
The event was attended by almost 500 people from the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, United States, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
Inflation call to Switzerland and the emerging markets
Inflation is the talk of the industry, and the StoneX event was no exception.
In this regard, Vincent Deluard reviewed the macro view and came to several conclusions. The first, and the one that has been heard the most in recent days, is that it is very difficult for inflation to moderate in the first boreal.
Moreover, Deluard explained that bank credit, labor shortages and wealth shock will drive inflation in 2022.
On the other hand, a devaluation of Asian currencies, especially China, is to be expected and he also concluded that monopolies and the rise of the Gig Economy will create a direct dependence between prices and wages.
Finally, the expert stressed that a portfolio of Swiss and emerging assets should be the new 60/40 portfolio.
Commodity prices and South America
One cannot talk about commodities without taking China into account. In this regard, Blu Putnam, Chief Economist of CME Group, commented that the Asian giant generated a super revolution in the price of commodities, but warned that it is not the same economy of a few decades ago.
On the other hand, Putman talked about South American farmers. The expert said that normally when we see high prices “we think that farmers will have good yields”.
However, the CME Group executive warned that producers will have many high costs, such as fertilizers.
“Farmers will have to think very, very carefully, because although they will sell at higher prices, they will have much higher costs,” he said.
Finally, he made a point about the weather and the La Niña phenomenon in Argentina that could bring problems with drought to producers in that South American country.
In relation to the criteria for ESG investment, Vincent Deluard, Director of Global Macro Strategy at StoneX and economist Andrew Busch, former CMIO and former US government official, discussed the pros and cons of this type of investment and its performance in portfolios.
Among several of the arguments made in favor of ESG, the importance of following company ratings was highlighted. On the other hand, it was noted that if demand continues to grow, production will have to respond to that demand, making it more difficult to maintain parameters.
Foto cedidaJosé Castellano dará el relevo a Jamie Hammond como responsable de Distribución Internacional de iM Global Partner.. José Castellano abandona su puesto como Deputy CEO y responsable de Distribución Internacional de iM Global Partner
José Castellano, until now Deputy CEO and Head of International Distribution at iM Global Partner, is leaving the firm. As of April 4th, 2022, he will remain as Senior Advisor of the firm.
According to iM Global Partner’s statements to Funds Society, his mission will be to assist the firm in its future developments. Jamie Hammond will take over from Castellano as head of International Distribution.
“Jose has decided to distance himself from the intense daily management required by his role as ‘Deputy CEO, Head of International distribution’. From April 4th, 2022, he will become Senior Advisor of iM Global Partner with the main mission of helping the company in its future developments,” the company explains.
From the firm, they add: “We would like to strongly thank Jose for his very significant contribution within iM Global Partner in building its international distribution network. We are also happy that he has agreed to remain active on behalf of iM Global Partner.”.
Castellano said: “Obviously I also thank Philippe Couvrecelle for envisioning and leading very passionately and successfully this amazing company.”
Jamie Hammond will take over from Castellano as head of International Distribution. Hammond is a veteran and one of the best-known distribution executives in the business, with a great track record and experience, and who fully shares iM Global Partner’s vision and values. He currently heads the firm’s EMEA Distribution area and is Deputy CEO.
Extensive experience
Castellano joined the firm in March 2021 to support iM Global Partner’s development outside the United States. At that time, he joined directly for the dual role of Deputy CEO and Head of International Business Development. He has extensive experience in the sector, having spent 25 years in the distribution business in this industry.
Within his professional career, it is worth highlighting his time at Pioneer Investments, where he spent 17 years and was one of the main distribution executives for the Asia Pacific, Latin America, United States and Iberia regions. Under his leadership, these regions experienced the highest growth worldwide, making the fund manager one of the most important players in each of these markets. Prior to joining Pioneer Investments in January 2001, he was head of Morgan Stanley’s private equity group for two years and head of Wealth Management for another seven years at Morgan Stanley. José Castellano holds a degree in finance from Saint Louis University and several postgraduate degrees from Nebrija University and IE.
Hammond has more than thirty years of experience in the sector. Prior to joining iM Global Partner last summer, Hammond worked at AllianceBernstein Limited (UK) as Managing Director and Head of the EMEA Client Group. He joined AB in January 2016 as head of EMEA Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Functions. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Franklin Templeton Investments, where his last positions were CEO of UK regulated entities and Managing Director for Europe. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2001 following the acquisition of Fiduciary Trust Company International, where he was Sales Director responsible for mutual fund development in Europe. Prior to that, Hammond held the position of Head of National Sales at Hill Samuel Asset Management, the asset management division of Lloyds TSB Group.
Rafael Guimarães Lopo Lima took over as the new regional director of the Brazil section of Santander Private Banking International’s subsidiary.
Guimarães moved to Miami in January from São Paulo where he was Head of Commercial Private Banking for UHNW clients of the spanish bank.
The promotion follows the promotion of Beltrán Usera to Head of Santander Private Banking International’s new office in New York.
Guimarães has worked at Santander since April 2008 where he started in the role of Senior Private Banker, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Prior to Santander, the banker worked for ABN Ambro Bank in two periods (2006-2008) and (2001-2005). He was also Senior Product Manager at Bank Boston between 2005 and 2006.
Just as the Covid crisis has begun to fade, a conflict in Ukraine is erupting. The question investors now face is the degree to which Russia’s invasion will undermine the global economic recovery. The next few weeks will offer some clarity.
Even so, as long as Russia’s invasion doesn’t result in a drawn-out conflict, any consequences to global markets are likely to be manageable. Neither the Ukraine crisis nor the spike in oil prices is enough to derail what continues to be robust global growth.
Both countries make up only a small proportion of world GDP and, apart from Russian energy exports to Europe alongside some other commodities, have fairly modest roles to play in global trade. Some global industries will be potentially affected – apart from commodities: car manufacturers, food producers, steelmaking and chipmaking – but it is the second-round effects on European inflation and consumer confidence that need to be monitored.
The conflict might prove concerning enough to stay some of the more hawkish elements at the world’s major central banks, not least the US Federal Reserve. So while the trend clearly remains towards monetary tightening, it could be at a slower pace than the markets have been pricing recently.
With all that in mind, in the very short term, it makes sense for investors to show some caution. Which is why we have taken a few risk mitigation measures within our equity positioning. But overall, our main asset allocations – overweight equities, underweight bonds – remain unchanged.
Our business cycle indicators point to a positive outlook for the global economy during the next year, with all major economies expected to grow at between 3 per cent and 5 per cent. World retail sales may have peaked, but they remain above trend. Industrial production and exports are accelerating. And services affected by Covid are poised to boom – not least travel and mass events.
The US economy, which is least likely to be affected by Ukraine, shows strong underlying consumer demand and a resilient housing sector. Europe is vulnerable to its reliance on Russian gas, but the overall trend is towards recovery and monetary policy is likely to remain supportive. And China is starting to recover.
Meanwhile, even with the latest spike in oil prices, inflation should peak towards the end of the first quarter or early in the second across all major regions.
Our liquidity indicators offer mixed signals. Set against a the vast pool of global liquidity that has been built up during the Covid pandemic, central banks are starting not only to turn off the taps, but to drain some of the excess – we expect a net contraction of central bank liquidity this year to reach 3 per cent of global GDP. The Fed is poised to undertake a quadruple tightening – exiting quantitative easing, starting quantitative tightening and hiking rates even as inflation peaks and starts to slow. Offsetting this, however, is growth in the provision of credit from private sector banks. And central banks might find it prudent to talk down some of the markets’ excess hawkishness, particularly in light of global events.
Our short-term valuation indicators show that both equities and bonds are trading at close to fair value, with only commodities looking expensive among the major asset classes. For the first time in a long time equity markets do not exhibit extreme relative valuation readings in either regions or sectors. The US remains the most expensive stock market, but only moderately so. The upward move in real rates was behind the recent outperformance of value stocks over growth – future earnings are worth less today as rates head higher – but that trade might be running its course. And while there may be further downward pressure on price to earnings (P/E) ratios, a 20 per cent decline in 12 month P/Es since September 2020 suggests there’s limited scope for further contraction in stocks’ earnings multiples for the rest of this year – so, for instance, our model suggests P/E ratios will stabilise over the coming year (see Fig. 2).
Our technical indicators suggest that equities are oversold – particularly after the Ukraine-inspired drops. But there are no real signs of market panic. US equity sentiment is particularly gloomy, a bearish shift that’s been confirmed by the latest Bank of America fund manager survey. To us, this indicates the scope for a further sharp decline in US stocks is limited.
Opinion written by Luca Paolini, Pictet Asset Management’s Chief Strategist.
Information, opinions and estimates contained in this document reflect a judgment at the original date of publication and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented herein.
Important notes
This material is for distribution to professional investors only. However it is not intended for distribution to any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be contrary to law or regulation.
The information and data presented in this document are not to be considered as an offer or sollicitation to buy, sell or subscribe to any securities or financial instruments or services.
Information used in the preparation of this document is based upon sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of those sources. Any opinion, estimate or forecast may be changed at any time without prior warning. Investors should read the prospectus or offering memorandum before investing in any Pictet managed funds. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each investor and may be subject to change in the future. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You may not get back the amount originally invested.
This document has been issued in Switzerland by Pictet Asset Management SA and in the rest of the world by Pictet Asset Management (Europe) SA, and may not be reproduced or distributed, either in part or in full, without their prior authorisation.
For US investors, Shares sold in the United States or to US Persons will only be sold in private placements to accredited investors pursuant to exemptions from SEC registration under the Section 4(2) and Regulation D private placement exemptions under the 1933 Act and qualified clients as defined under the 1940 Act. The Shares of the Pictet funds have not been registered under the 1933 Act and may not, except in transactions which do not violate United States securities laws, be directly or indirectly offered or sold in the United States or to any US Person. The Management Fund Companies of the Pictet Group will not be registered under the 1940 Act.
Pictet Asset Management (USA) Corp (“Pictet AM USA Corp”) is responsible for effecting solicitation in the United States to promote the portfolio management services of Pictet Asset Management Limited (“Pictet AM Ltd”), Pictet Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd (“PAM S”) and Pictet Asset Management SA (“Pictet AM SA”). Pictet AM (USA) Corp is registered as an SEC Investment Adviser and its activities are conducted in full compliance with SEC rules applicable to the marketing of affiliate entities as prescribed in the Adviser Act of 1940 ref.17CFR275.206(4)-3.
Pictet Asset Management Inc. (Pictet AM Inc) is responsible for effecting solicitation in Canada to promote the portfolio management services of Pictet Asset Management Limited (Pictet AM Ltd) and Pictet Asset Management SA (Pictet AM SA).
In Canada Pictet AM Inc is registered as Portfolio Manager authorized to conduct marketing activities on behalf of Pictet AM Ltd and Pictet AM SA.
Unexpected regulatory actions and concerns over China’s property market were just a couple of reasons for the volatile year in China; however, there are reasons for optimism in 2022. One sign is a clear easing cycle that is already developing in Beijing, which should result in stronger economic performance and improved sentiment among Chinese investors, who drive their domestic exchanges.
Please join us for an interactive discussion with Matthews Asia Investment Strategist Andy Rothman and Portfolio Manager Winnie Chwang as they discuss how last year’s experiences can help us plan for the year ahead and why we believe China’s vibrant, entrepreneurial economy remains well-positioned for dynamic growth. Topics will include:
The state of China’s economy and its economic prospects in 2022
The progress of monetary, fiscal and regulatory policy easing
Key trends and sectors that may impact growth prospects
How our investment team has traversed the regulatory environment
Why an all-share approach may provide proper exposure to the region
Speakers
Andy Rothman
Andy Rothmanis an Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia. He is principally responsible for developing research focused on China’s ongoing economic and political developments while also complementing the broader investment team with in-depth analysis on Asia. In addition, Andy plays a key role in communicating to clients and the media the firm’s perspectives and latest insights into China and the greater Asia region. Prior to joining Matthews Asia in 2014, Andy spent 14 years as CLSA’s China macroeconomic strategist where he conducted analysis into China and delivered his insights to their clients. Previously, Andy spent 17 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a diplomatic career focused on China, including as head of the macroeconomics and domestic policy office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In total, Andy has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years. He earned an M.A. in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a B.A. from Colgate University. He is a proficient Mandarin speaker.
Winnie Chwang
Winnie Chwangis a Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia and manages the firm’s China Small Strategy and co-manages the China and Pacific Tiger Strategies. She joined the firm in 2004 and has built her investment career at the firm. Winnie earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business and received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. She is fluent in Mandarin and conversational in Cantonese.
A confluence of competitive threats, including an industry-wide shift away from brokerage, broader adoption of financial planning, and the popularity of independent business models, is eroding the registered investment advisor (RIA) channels’ key differentiating factors, according to Cerulli’s latest report, U.S. RIA Marketplace 2021: Meeting the Demand for Advice.
In response, more RIAs are considering whether to extend their service offerings to deepen their impact with existing and prospective clients.
To unlock the RIA channels’ success formula and protect against advisor movement to independence, broker/dealers (B/Ds) are increasingly developing independent affiliation options, promoting financial planning, and creating more opportunities for advisors to conduct fee-based or fee-only business.
By 2023, 93% of advisors across all channels expect to generate at least 50% of their revenue from advisory fees. Likewise, over the past five years, the number of financial planning practices across all channels grew at a 5.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
As a result, B/Ds are impinging on what has historically been viewed as largely unique to the RIA channels—an independent, fee-based business centered on financial planning. In addition to this convergence of business models, investor influence, democratization of services, and client acquisition challenges are encouraging RIAs to reevaluate their position in the marketplace. For some, this means expanding their service offerings to combat value differentiation concerns and capture emerging opportunities.
According to the research, trust services (19%), digital advice platforms (17%), and concierge/lifestyle services (16%) rank as the top-three areas of anticipated service expansion for RIAs within the next two years.
“While implementing these additional services may help RIA firms move upmarket and generate greater revenue, RIAs will need to reinvest in the business by hiring more staff, adding technology tools, producing marketing materials, or paying a third-party provider for outsourced support,” says Marina Shtyrkov, associate director.
To preserve profitability levels as they add services, advisors can either adjust their fees upward or implement alternative pricing structures. These nontraditional fees are not correlated to portfolio performance and can help RIAs offset the increased costs of delivering additional services, thereby reducing profit margin pressure. For RIAs that offer financial planning, nontraditional fees also ensure that the firm’s pricing is more closely aligned with its value proposition.
Ultimately, value differentiation challenges will become a question of firm economics—one that RIAs must be ready to answer.
While Cerulli does not believe that all RIAs must expand their service set to remain competitive, under the right circumstances, additional offerings can help firms capture new opportunities and tackle competitive challenges.
“Like any business decision, the addition of a service should allow advisors to better address their target market and achieve stronger alignment between that segment’s needs and the firm’s offerings,” says Shtyrkov and added: “RIAs will need to consult their strategic partners (RIAs custodians, asset managers, service providers) to help them navigate these choices, weigh the tradeoffs of service expansion, and mitigate the risks of thinning profit margins.”
In a new report published by Preqin, the Women in Alternatives 2022, shows that although the alternatives industry has not seen a major drop in the proportion of female employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is more work to be done to rectify the marked gender imbalance, especially in senior positions.
Gender balance has improved, albeit slowly, across the alternative assets industry as a whole. According to Deloitte, one woman in the C-suite leads to three promotions of women into senior management roles; simply put, the lack of women in leadership positions can negatively affect the prosperity of women in the industry as a whole.
Preqin data shows that a 12.9% of senior positions in the alternatives industry are held by women. As of January 2022, 20.9% of the alternative assets workforce is female – and when looking at investors alone this rises to 24.2% (up from 20.3% and 24.0% respectively a year earlier).
When looking at the female representation in different asset classes, regionally, European private debt fund managers employ the most women – up from 21.6% in 2021 to 22.8% this year.
Rest of World real estate fund managers have the lowest proportion of women on staff – down from 17.3% in 2021 to 15.1% in 2022. In terms of asset classes, infrastructure leads the way with 28.6% female workforce, compared with 24.1% globally; and private equity trails the pack, employing 23.6% women in North America and 21.9% globally.
As of February 2022, just 20.5% of total private equity fund manager employees were women, the Preqin report shows.
While that proportion has increased for the past three years in North America, Europe, and Asia — although by less than one percentage point annually — Rest of World recorded a decline from 18.9% in 2020 to 18.3% in 2021. At senior levels, there are even fewer women; only 9% of CEOs and 8.2% of board members are female.
Women continue to be underrepresented throughout the workforce in financial services.
Deloitte estimates that 24% of senior roles were held by women across financial services in 2021. In alternative assets, the figures are worse still, with Preqin data showing only 12.9% of senior positions held by women.
At fund manager level, the proportion of women in the workforce ranges from 18.9% at real estate firms to 21.1% at venture capital, private debt, and natural resources firms.
The proportion of women in senior positions ranges from 13%, in venture capital, to just 9.8% in real estate. Interestingly, real estate boasts the highest proportion of female employees at junior level (36.3%), making the drop between junior and senior level even more pronounced.
Investors have better female representation throughout the workforce, with 34.4% of junior positions, 26.1% of mid-level positions and 16.7% of senior roles filled by women.
Venture Capital Pulls Ahead
Women have been more successful at launching and managing venture capital funds than in any other alternative asset class.
The number of female-owned funds holding their first close jumped from 32 in 2013 to 158 in 2022, an increase of almost 400% in a decade, which is considerably faster than in private equity (where the increase was 32.1%), and real estate (133.3%) — the only other asset classes where the number of first closes for 2022 is in double digits.
Furthermore, female-founded start-ups backed by venture capital funds raised an average $935,000 (compared to men-founded ones: $2.1mn) and generated $730,000 in revenue (men: $660,000).
A study by Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge, a US-based network of business accelerators, looked at 350 companies and found that start-ups with at least one female founder raised less money than those with male founders, but generated more revenue over a five-year period. The same study found that, expressed in revenue per dollar invested, female-founded start-ups backed by venture capital outperformed their male-founded counterparts by a considerable margin, returning 78 cents per dollar against 31cents for companies with male founders.
Key Women in Alternative Assets 2022 Facts:
Private Equity:
20.5% – Women account for one-fifth of total private equity fund manager employees
23.6% – North America has the highest proportion of female fund manager employees in private equity
33.4% – A third of junior employees in private equity are women, over double the 13.9% the proportion of senior employees
Venture Capital:
17.4% – China has the highest proportion of female senior employees at venture capital firms in the top 10 locations by aggregate capital raised in the past 10 years
21.1% – Venture capital fund managers have one of the highest percentages of female employees among alternative asset classes
8.1% – The proportion of board members at venture capital fund managers who are women
Private Debt
22.0% – The proportion of female senior employees at private debt firms in China – by far the highest of any location
6.4% – The proportion of female board members in private debt firms
28.0% – More than a quarter of CFOs at private debt firms in Asia are women, compared to a global average of 20.4%
Hedge Funds
10.0% – of portfolio management staff at hedge fund GPs are female
18.6% – Chinese hedge fund firms have the highest proportion of female employees in senior positions
7.1% – of hedge fund firm board members are women
Real Estate
17.4% – France has the highest proportion of women in senior positions at real estate firms
18.9% – Real estate has the lowest proportion of female fund managers across alternatives
4.9% of board members at real estate GPs are women
Infrastructure
4.5% – Proportion of board members at infrastructure GPs that are women
19.1% – France has the highest proportion of female senior employees in infrastructure
23.4% – Almost a quarter of executive directors at infrastructure firms are women
Natural Resources
18.1% – France has the highest proportion of women among its total employees at natural resources firms
36.0% – North America is the region with the highest proportion of female junior employees in natural resources
19.3% – North America also has by far the highest proportion of women in senior positions in natural resources
Next Wednesday, April 6, at 10:30 am ET, there will be a new Virtual Investment Summit hosted by Funds Society titled “Looking for an Offshore Alternative Investment Option? U.S. private real estate may make a lot of sense despite what you might think.”
Kevin White, co-head of global real estate research at DWS will participate in the event along with Stella Gonazles Vigil, head of Latin America coverage at DWS.
With geopolitical and economic uncertainty in Latin America, not to mention other parts of the world, investors are increasingly looking at alternative options offshore to complement their existing portfolio. Despite what you might think about rising rates and inflation in the U.S, its property market is actually well-positioned to potentially benefit from these economic developments given its fundamental outlook and shifting market dynamic as well as historical performance under such conditions.
Kevin White – Co-head of Global Real Estate Research, DWS
Based in New York, Kevin joined DWS in 2015 with nearly two decades of real estate, economic and financial services experience. Prior to joining, Kevin served in investment strategy and research at Cole Capital and at Property & Portfolio Research (PPR). Previously, he was an economist at International Data Corporation and a tax policy officer in the Department of Finance at the Government of Canada. He earned a BA in Economics from Queen’s University, holds a MA in Economics from University of British Columbia and is a CFA Charterholder.
Stella GonazlesVigil – Latin America Coverage, DWS
Based in New York, Stella is a senior member and relationship manager for Latin America Coverage, working with different investors in the region. She joined DWS in 2012 as an investment specialist for liquidity management and prior to that worked with institutional clients at Banco de Credito del Peru – BCP. Stella earned a BA in Economics from University of Lima, a MBA from Duke University, and holders Series 7 and 63 licenses as well as CESGA – Certified Environmental Social and Governance Analyst.
John Manley – Product Specialist-Real Estate/RREEF Property Trust, DWS
John Manley is a Product Specialist for RREEF Property Trust, a real estate investment solution for investors. Prior to his current role, he was a Property Specialist for DWS’s Alternatives platform, focused on the portfolio and asset management activities of RREEF Property Trust since September 2015. Before then Mr. Manley was an Analyst with Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank Structured Lending team where he focused on credit solutions for ultra-high net worth individuals, private equity funds and family offices. Mr. Manley joined Deutsche Bank in 2013 through its Graduate Program, an intensive training and development program. He holds a B.S. in Applied Accounting and Finance from Fordham University.
