Overall Sentiment Stagnates, but Vast Differences Remain between Men and Women

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Overall Sentiment Stagnates, but Vast Differences Remain between Men and Women
Foto: Ted Goldring . Hombres y mujeres tienen diferentes sentimientos en cuanto a seguridad financiera

After a significant increase in positivity toward personal finances last year, sentiments have stagnated, according to the latest Country Financial Security Index, a semiannual score measuring the overall sense of financial security in the United States.

In mid-2015, the Index score jumped 2.1 points to 66.9, the highest score reported since the financial crisis hit the U.S. in 2008. However, following the uptick, the score has moved at a fraction of that rate in the past year, settling in slightly lower at 66.7 in its latest reading.

On an individual level, many are accepting their current financial situation as a new normal. More than half of Americans – just over 51 percent – say their level of financial security is staying about the same. However, in general, men are more likely to believe their circumstances are improving than women.

“Americans seem to be settling into a new normal and accepting their less than ideal financial picture,” says Joe Buhrmann, manager of financial security at the company who run the research. “Yet, as the Country Financial Security Index score settles into its latest groove, women’s sentiments remain closer to record lows in the face of various societal issues that act as headwinds to achieving financial security.”

Meeting short-term goals reveals gender gap

In the aftermath of The Great Recession, Americans’ financial sentiments reached an all-time low of 63.7. Since reaching the bottom of the trough, the Index score amongst men has rebounded to 68.2, past the national average and near the all-time high of 69.3 set in June 2008.

However, the Index score amongst women remains stuck closer to the all-time low at 65.1 – and more than three in four women (76 percent) don’t see things getting better. At the same time, women are more likely to feel their overall financial situation is staying the same in comparison to men.

Men are making strides to improve their financial security on a short-term basis, making it easier to see their overall level of financial security improving:In the past three months, men are more likely than women to have set aside money for savings and investments; Men are also more likely to feel confident compared to women in their ability to pay debts – such as mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debts – as they come due.

“When your day-to-day finances are out of order, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed – and the lack of confidence women are feeling overall is likely due to their inability to save, invest and pay off debts,” Buhrmann says. “Taking steps to adjust your expenses and spending habits can help establish a base for meeting both short-term and long-term financial goals.”

Large money matters weigh more on women

Beyond the basic short-term financial goals such as saving, investing and paying off debts, women have a more negative outlook when it comes to meeting longer-term financial goals.

“One tricky decision in particular is the choice between setting aside money for the college education of your children versus saving money for retirement,” Buhrmann says. “All parents struggle with this decision, but for women – single moms, especially – who are less likely to set aside money at all, this decision fuels some of their biggest financial worries.”

With the cost of a college education rising and longevity extending in the U.S., women are unsure about their ability to cover the costs: Women are significantly less confident they will have resources to send children to college than men and also feel significantly less likely they will have enough money and resources to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

“In order to meet long-term financial goals, everyone needs to have a plan and actively update it as their circumstances and desires change,” Buhrmann says. “A financial advisor can help address what seem like overwhelming financial burdens to ease the anxiety many women – and Americans in general – are feeling.”

 

Commerzbank International in Luxembourg Becomes Julius Baer

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Julius Baer completa la adquisición de Commerzbank Luxembourg
. Commerzbank International in Luxembourg Becomes Julius Baer

The acquisition of Commerzbank International Luxembourg, announced in December 2015, was closed successfully on July 4th, 2016. Going forward, the acquired entity will operate under the name of Bank Julius Baer Luxembourg. The acquisition significantly strengthens Julius Baer’s presence in Luxembourg and provides further strategic flexibility for the Group’s European business.

At closing, CISAL reported approx. EUR 2.5 billion of assets under management and about 150 employees. Going forward, CISAL will operate under the name of Bank Julius Baer Luxembourg S.A., headed by CISAL’s former CEO Falk Fischer. Thomas Fehr, former Branch & Country Manager Luxembourg at Commerzbank AG, becomes COO and Member of the Executive Board of the Bank in Luxembourg.

The total consideration of EUR 78 million, which includes EUR 35 million of regulatory capital transferred as part of the transaction, was paid in cash. Total restructuring and integration costs are estimated to amount to approximately EUR 20 million.

According to a press release, an additional benefit of the transaction is CISAL’s banking platform which runs on the same system as Julius Baer’s target platform. “The acquired Temenos T24 platform and the related IT expertise will add relevant experience to Julius Baer’s currently ongoing worldwide platform renewal project. At the same time, the newly acquired booking centre will present Julius Baer with further strategic flexibility for servicing its European clients.”

Gian A. Rossi, Member of the Executive Board of Bank Julius Baer and Head Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, said: “I very much look forward to welcoming the new clients and colleagues to Julius Baer. CISAL is a high-quality franchise, which will enable us to further expand our footprint in this important financial centre. Additionally, the Luxembourg banking licence and CISAL’s T24 platform and expertise offer clear benefits for the Group as a whole.”

Falk Fischer, said: “My colleagues and I are excited to join Julius Baer. Thanks to the Group’s position as the leading Swiss private bank with a global reach and the great cooperation with the colleagues of the existing local franchise in Luxembourg, I am convinced that our clients will benefit from the unique investment knowledge, exceptional client focus and the enhanced offering the combined businesses will be able to provide.”

Tax Efficiency Drives Less than a Quarter of High Net Worth Offshore Investment

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Tax Efficiency Drives Less than a Quarter of High Net Worth Offshore Investment
Foto: Alessandro Caproni . La optimización fiscal solo provoca el 23% de las inversiones offshore

Despite the commonly-held belief that tax considerations primarily drive offshore investment, only 23.2% of global high net worth (HNW) wealth is invested offshore for tax reasons, while 24.1% derives from HNW individuals seeking access to a greater range of investment options, according to financial services research and insight firm Verdict Financial.

The company’s latest report states that wealth managers need to gain a deeper understanding of the drivers that are prompting HNW investors to look for new places to store their fortunes. Indeed, HNWI invest offshore for a multitude of reasons, which often depend on geographic and demographic factors, as well as political, economic or monetary conditions in their country of residence.

Verdict Financial’s senior analyst Heike van den Hoevel notes that, fueled by recent scandals and increased media attention, the word “offshore” is overwhelmingly associated with tax avoidance or even evasion. However, while reducing one’s tax bill is certainly a consideration for many HNW individuals looking at offshore investment – especially among those in countries with high tax rates or a complex tax system – it is not necessarily the primary consideration.

Heike explains: “Wealth managers need to understand that there is no single reason driving HNW offshore investment, and that providers have to factor in pronounced regional differences when designing their offshore propositions. For example, German HNW investors, who traditionally only invest a small proportion abroad, have been increasing their offshore holdings, mainly due to the lack of returns that can be earned at home, while HNW individuals in South Africa have been eager to channel wealth offshore to escape currency volatility in their own country, which suggests that offering hedging tools is essential.

The firm believes that local wealth managers would do well to offer a wider range of investment funds providing exposure to international markets to avoid losing funds to offshore providers. On the flipside, providers looking to attract offshore wealth should highlight more beneficial investment conditions in their country.

How do I Maximize the Consistency of my Return?

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¿Qué podemos esperar de los mercados en los próximos meses?
Photo: Colin Moore, director global de Inversiones de Columbia Threadneedle Investments.. How do I Maximize the Consistency of my Return?

Colin Moore, Global Chief Investment at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, discusses what was behind the volatile first quarter, where he sees opportunities and risks for the remainder of the year, and why he thinks investors should focus on maximizing consistency of returns.

What is your outlook for financial markets for the remainder of the year?

I wouldn’t say there can’t be positive returns in equities, but I don’t think the return relative to the volatility is going to be a particularly good trade-off. Investors need to understand that just getting a positive return isn’t enough if they have to take on too much uncertainty to get there. When there is volatility in the markets, investors often don’t behave well. They sell at the wrong point and buy at the wrong point, which is driven by their emotional response. Similarly, a lot of areas in fixed income don’t look particularly cheap to me. You will probably get the coupon in a number of areas, which is not particularly exciting, but at least the volatility will probably be less. In this challenging environment, I think the question investors should be asking is “How do I maximize the consistency of my return?” rather than “How do I maximize my return?”

What are some strategies that investors can use to maximize consistency of their returns?

Diversification is the standard strategy, but the mistake many investors make is assuming that if they own a lot of things, they’re diversified. What we’ve learned, particularly through the last crisis, is that a lot of things are diversified when you don’t need them to be, and when you need them to be diversified, i.e. in a crisis, they’re not. They act together.
With more study and analysis of how to get proper diversification, investors can pursue opportunities beyond conventional asset classes. These may include alternative investments and accessing the futures market to hedge exposure to conventional asset classes. With help from their financial advisor, investors can implement strategies designed to generate reasonable returns while reducing overall portfolio volatility. I strongly recommend that we focus on ensuring that our clients are properly diversified.

What impact did the US Federal Reserve have on financial markets?

The Fed has been involved in extraordinary monetary policy for some time. I believe the first rounds of quantitative easing were necessary for reducing risk and stabilizing the financial system. However, I would argue that some of the subsequent elements of Fed policy were unnecessary and, in isolation, relatively ineffective in stimulating growth. The problem is that we did not see the appropriate response on the fiscal side of the economy, and, certainly, politicians failed to come forward with a comprehensive plan. That left the Fed trying more and more extraordinary measures with less and less impact. Last December’s rate hike shocked people, but I think it was the right thing to do, and I hope they raise rates at least one more time this year. Normalizing monetary policy will send the message that we no longer need extraordinary measures. Lower rates won’t make you spend money if you think there’s a crisis going on. But if you think the economy is relatively normal, then low rates may encourage you to spend on your business or yourself.

After a dismal start to the year, financial markets made a tremendous comeback, with US equities ending the quarter higher. How did we get there?

When there’s a lot of negative volatility in the marketplace, it’s usually because there’s a lot of fear. Expectations of growth were too high, and disappointing news caused investors to rethink those expectations. Then they became overly fearful that the world is going to melt down. As that fear is removed, markets bounce back. We believe that we will continue to see the modest economic growth rate we’ve been predicting for many years. In today’s low, slow growth environment, we’re going to have periods of over- expectation and over-fear. We’re going to have to learn to cope with that.

Do you think the market’s reaction to a slowing Chinese economy was correct?

It was good that the market began to realize that the transition of the Chinese economy would take longer and probably be less even than some had forecast. China is making a big transition from an investment, project-led economy to a better balance between that and the consumer. Like a supertanker turning around, the transition will take time, and it’s unlikely that both components will move evenly. But the market reaction to China, at times, has been exaggerated, partly because we’ve become overly reliant on China as an engine for world economic growth. Japan and Europe are barely growing, and the US looks to be on its current 2% growth trend for a long time.

We saw more central banks pursue a negative interest rate policy in Q1. What do you think of this trend?

I believe the negative interest rate regime is dangerous, and I don’t think it creates the right behaviours. While a negative interest rate policy should encourage banks to lend more, it does nothing to increase demand for money. In fact, the messaging around negative interest rates is that the economy could be facing a crisis. So while the amount of money available may increase, I don’t think the demand for money will change, materially. I think, ultimately, it fails. In the interim the policy is bad for savers and for financial institutions such as insurers.

Why haven’t low energy prices delivered a bigger boost to growth?

It’s been something of a conundrum for me. While I believe low energy prices are, on balance, a positive for the global and US economies, it’s not all good news. In my observation, consumers want to see if low energy prices persist before they change their spending patterns. Now that these low prices have been with us for a while, we hope to see people spending that extra money as they feel more confident that they can rely on it.

The world seems to be getting more dangerous by the day. What are the implications for markets around the world?

Geopolitical risk is ever-present, and it certainly looks like it is escalating. However, there is a major difference between how markets react and how human beings react to geopolitical tension. As investors, we need to differentiate between geopolitical risks that create short-term volatility versus those that change the direction of markets
if it’s determined that one or more of those three factors is involved.

Jean-Pierre Mustier, is Appointed New CEO at UniCredit

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UniCredit designa a Jean Pierre Mustier como nuevo consejero delegado
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: m.krema . Jean-Pierre Mustier, is Appointed New CEO at UniCredit

On June 30th, the Board of Directors of UniCredit SpA has co-opted Jean Pierre Mustier and unanimously approved that, starting from next 12 July, he will take on the position of CEO in replacement of Federico Ghizzoni.

One of his most important tasks in his new role will be to decide and execute on the fusion of Pioneer Investments with Santander Asset Management. Operation which, according to Reuters, will no longer happen once Ghizzoni left. The merger would create one of Europe’s leading asset managers with over 400 billion euros in AUM.

According to a press release, the Board Chose Mustier because of his international profile, the high quality of his professional skills as well as the excellent understanding of international financial services and the accrued deep knowledge of the Group structure he has.

Mustier, 55, began his career at Société Générale where he held various positions, primarily within the Corporate & Investment Banking from 1987 to 2009. In 2003 he was appointed as Head of the Société Générale’s Corporate & Investment Banking Division and member of the bank’s Executive Committee. Afterwards, from 2011 to 2014, he joined UniCredit Group as Deputy General Manager and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking Division. Currently he is partner at Tikehau Capital, an investment management company and member of the Board of Directors of Alitalia.

In compliance with applicable regulations, the appointment of Mustier as CEO shall be assessed by the ECB.
 

Only 23% of 10m+ Clients Would Recommend Their Current Wealth Manager

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Only 23% of 10m+ Clients Would Recommend Their Current Wealth Manager
Foto: Mirosław Legęza . Solo el 23% de los clientes con más de 10 millones recomendaría a su wealth manager

Only 39% of clients are likely to recommend their current wealth manager, falling to 23% among US$10m+ clients, according to the report ‘Sink or swim: why wealth management can’t afford to miss the digital wave’, published by PwC, based on a survey in Europe, North America and Asia.

Wealth management is one of the least tech-literate sectors of the financial services industry, and what is currently on offer is sharply at odds with what their clients, high net worth individuals, expect. When HNWIs were asked what they value most about their current advisor/wealth manager, their technical capabilities and digital offering ranked just eighth out of 11 options.

The work also finds that two-thirds (69%) of HNWIs use online/mobile banking, more than 40% use online means to review their portfolio or investment markets and over one in three are already using online services for portfolio management.

Demand among HNWIs for finance-related technology is, surprisingly, similar across both younger and older HNWIs, the exception being portfolio management, where under-45s are markedly more interested in managing investments online. Moreover, 47% of those who do not currently use robo services would consider using them in the future.

Over half of HNWIs surveyed believe it is important for their financial advisor or wealth manager to have a strong digital offering– a proportion that rises to almost two-thirds among HNWIs under 45 and in Asia. Where HNWIs are digitally confident, expectations that wealth managers should be technologically proficient are higher still.

On the other hand, two-thirds of wealth relationship managers do not consider robo-advisors a threat to their business. Moreover, they repeatedly insist clients do not want digital functionality, directly contradicting the importance their clients place on it.

 “This conflict within wealth management firms, combined with a client-base that feels only weak affiliation to its chosen providers, is creating a sector that is now acutely vulnerable, to digital innovation from FinTech incomers, including robo-advice services,” says Barry Benjamin, Global Asset and Wealth Management leader at PwC.

In PwC’s view, to survive, wealth management firms must accelerate efforts to adopt a comprehensive digital infrastructure, harness the potential of digital, and be willing to partner strategically with FinTech innovators.

Benjamin concludes:

“Wealth relationship managers enjoy high levels of trust among their client base. They are already recipients of a depth and breadth of data and insight spanning both financial and non-financial aspects. Any future wealth management model needs, without question, to retain this human aspect.

“However, in an increasingly complex world where the investment office may, for example, have to evaluate more than 200 different investment products for a client, and where clients are also aware of what automated technology can do in the investment advisory space, technology will be vital to keep the job both do-able and scalable for a growing audience.

 

Argentina-based Online LatAm Real Estate Platform Properati Raises 2 Million Dollars

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Argentina-based Properati, the Latin American online and mobile solution for the real estate market, announced it has received a US$ 2 million investments from Neveq II, NXTP Labs, and Telor International Limited. With this new round the company has raised a total investment of US$ 4.2 million since it was founded in February 2013 and plans to consolidate its regional presence in Mexico and Brazil.

The company will use these funds to expand and consolidate its regional presence in key markets like Mexico and Brazil, and to continue developing innovative solutions to help the Real Estate industry become more efficient in their sales processes.

Properati already has over 1 million properties published in Brazil and almost 2 million in LatAm, covering a significant area of the real estate market in those countries and the region, with an innovative business model where clients only pay for the qualified leads they receive, and users may browse an ad-free site.

Regarding the fund’s investment in Properati, Ariel Arrieta, NXTP Labs co-founder and CEO, stated that: “Properati’s product is the most efficient way for brokers and developers to generate qualified leads and convert them into sold inventory. Over the last 12 months the company has made a significant progress in markets like Brazil and Argentina, with a clear value proposition for its clients, and we are happy to support their next wave of expansion into Mexico and other Latin American markets”.

In addition, Properati has announced that Ariel Muslera will join the board of the company. Muslera is a specialist in fundraising and business strategy, and has extensive experience as advisor in different startups.

New FOX Private Investor Council for Sophisticated Investors

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New FOX Private Investor Council for Sophisticated Investors
Photo: Karen Roe . FOX presenta el "Private Investor Council", para inversores sofisticados

Family Office Exchange (FOX), a global membership organization of enterprise families and their key advisors, recently announced the formation of the FOX Private Investor Council, a new Council-level membership specifically for sophisticated investors who make their own investment decisions and consider different risk and reward dynamics than most other investors. This membership allows them to collaborate with other independent investors to share ideas and take advantage of the latest thinking brought to the table by selected industry experts.

“The members of this Council are primarily focused on their investing activity, and they are the ultimate decision makers,” said Alexandre Monnier, president of FOX. “They operate with great independence but know that they would benefit from having a working group of other top-notch practitioners to test their ideas, stimulate their thinking, and benchmark their results. That is the need this Council serves.”

“The advantage of belonging to the FOX Private Investor Council is that there is a constant stream of new ideas flowing into the discussion,” added Karen Clark, managing director at the organization and leader of this Council. “The quality of the group is not limited to the experience of those in the room which is considerable in the first place. Cutting edge ideas are brought into the discussion by experts to elevate the discussion.”

The Council will meet twice a year. An April meeting will coincide with the FOX Spring Global Investor Forum in San Francisco and a September meeting with the FOX Autumn Global Investor Forum in New York City.

Councils are the highest level of engagement at FOX and approximately 30% of members belong to one of the 12 different Councils, which provide heightened interaction among closely matched peers who are working through a relevant curriculum designed by FOX to foster their personal and professional skills.

 

Sweet May for Event Driven Strategies

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Las estrategias Event-Driven registran un mes de mayo idílico
Foto: Tambako the Jaguar. Sweet May for Event Driven Strategies

Global financial markets showed a pleasant picture in May as risk aversion receded. Equity indices displayed positive returns worldwide, with the US, European and Japanese indices outperforming Emerging markets. The latter were hit by the hawkish Fed minutes, which revived fears of a US rate hike over the summer. As a result, the US dollar strengthened, advancing against both DM and EM currencies.

On the alternative side, the Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was up 0.8% through the month, with Event Driven outperforming. Strategies with more directionality contributed to the bulk of the gains while CTAs continued to suffer from shifting market trends.

Event Driven kept up the positive momentum with Special Situations (+2.5%) outperforming Merger Arbitrage (+1.4%). The month of May recorded an acceleration of M&A activity. This dynamic is supportive for merger arbitrage as it provides a broader set of investable opportunities. Managers also benefited from a number of successful deal completions (including Time Warner Cable vs Charter Communication), while spread tightening on various transactions added to the gains (Baxalta vs Shire, SAB Miller vs AB Inbev).

Special Situations funds, which are more sensitive to market directionality than their peers, extended gains in May with the improvement of risk appetite. They thrived on their core positioning on Akorn, Athabasca Oil and Dow Chemical stocks.

“The performance of Event-Driven strategies picked up in May after having experienced difficult quarters. The strategy recently benefited from the completion of large deals and the tightening of deal spreads. Managers have also adopted a dynamic approach to manage risks, moving away from longer dated soft situations and skewing their portfolio towards hard catalyst M&A situations”, point out Philippe Ferreira, Senior cross-asset strategist at Lyxor Asset Management.

 

L/S Equity funds outperformed the MSCI World index, with long bias managers leading the pack. L/S Equity managers stuck to their guns, maintaining a cautious stance, with a dwindling exposure to cyclicals. In May, long positions on the financial and technology sectors were rewarding, though the picture was different across regions. All European managers posted strong returns on the back of the quality bias on their long books. Yet, ahead of a number of uncertain macro events and the looming UK Referendum vote, managers held a tilt towards defensive sectors and kept a low net exposure. This explains that their participation to the market rally during the second half of the month was somewhat limited. On the other side of the Atlantic, outcomes were significantly disparate. US managers took advantage from the rebound in the healthcare sector but suffered from their long exposure to the industrials and materials.

Fixed income and Credit arbitrage performances were muted as the positive support from the ECB and oil price appreciation started to fade away in credit markets. Managers recorded contrasting results, underlining the fact that alpha generation made the difference. Asian managers outperformed on the back of their positions on the energy and basic materials sectors while the performance of European funds was milder than that of their peers.

Global macro managers recouped the bulk of losses incurred last month, up 1.2%, thanks to the strengthening of the US dollar and their fixed income portfolio. Yet, this picture hides disparate returns across managers due to different positioning. Overall, long exposures to the USD against the G-10 currencies were the most rewarding. Managers sharply increased their short allocation to the EUR. The picture was similar for the fixed income bucket as returns were fuelled by both short exposures to US and UK durations and longs on European bonds. Relative value trades were also beneficial.

The appreciation of the US dollar and the rebound in energy prices were detrimental to CTAs. Long term models (-3.1%) weighted on the overall performance, while short term ones (-0.5%) proved more resilient. The strengthening of the USD was harmful to their short stances, especially against AUD, JPY and EM currencies. Alpha generation on shorts in EUR, CHF and GBP helped mitigating losses. 

With the MIFID II Delay, Industry Now has More Breathing Room

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The European fund and asset management industry met on 16 and 17 of June in Malta, at the occasion of EFAMA’s Annual General Meeting. Hosted by the Maltese Funds Industry Association (MFIA), the AGM provided an opportunity for EFAMA members to discuss the investment and regulatory landscape and to exchange views with representatives from the European Commission and the Maltese Financial Services Authority.

The AGM marked the end of a first year under the mandate of EFAMA President Alexander Schindler, Member of the Executive Board of Union Asset Management Holding AG. During this time, the European asset management industry continued to grow, with 2015 being a record year and net sales of European investment funds rising to an all-time high of EUR 734 billion.

Schindler reported on the activity highlights during his first year, mentioning that the overarching EU initiative of the Capital Markets Union is a welcome, ambitious project which highlights the key role asset managers can play in providing alternative funding sources and channelling savings and investments into long-term projects. In the same vein, the European asset management industry, remains fully committed to the idea of developing a Pan-European Personal Pension product (PEPP). He commented: “Much has been done in recent years in the regulatory field. Much remains to be done in terms of implementing and applying these new regulations. With the MIFID II delay, industry now has more breathing room and is hands-on in preparing to apply the new rules.

According to EFAMA, the application of the new PRIIP KID rules remains a major issue, however, it should be done right for the sake of investors. “It serves no one’s purpose – and certainly not the investors’ interests – to rush through the Level-2 process.”

On the issue of personal pensions, they mentioned that “people need to start saving earlier, save more and save for longer, and the PEPP can address the current savings gap. Building on the excellent work done EIOPA, we hope the European Commission will concur that the creation of a PEPP would create invaluable benefits for EU citizens and the European economy”.

During the general assembly, EFAMA also welcomed two new National Associations as full members: the Cyprus Funds Association (CIFA) and the Croatian Association of Investment Fund Companies. Both have been members of EFAMA with observer status since June 2014.

Peter De Proft, Director General of EFAMA commented: “We are very pleased to see more full members joining our family. Dialogue, feedback, interactions and good governance are key elements in the smooth running of a European association. We are looking forward to working with the Cyprus and Croatian associations, and to continue to grow our membership and reach to feed into our increasingly constructive discussions with European institutions”. Adding that “in 2015, EFAMA and its members have had to begin adapting their modus operandi and will no doubt have to undertake further adjustments as the regulatory implementation stretches into the horizon. Some priorities, however, do not change: nine years after the start of the global financial crisis, we need to concentrate even more on performance in the interest of our investors.”

Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman, Malta Funds Industry Association (MFIA), commented: “The Malta Funds Industry Association is delighted to have been given the opportunity to host this prestigious event in Malta. The Association’s membership with EFAMA enables the MFIA to be an active participant in the multi-faceted developments shaping the European Funds Industry, with the end benefits being relayed to the members of the Association in Malta. Moreover, this provides an excellent platform for the Association to exchange views with other Associations on matters of common interest, share best practices and to analyse and monitor the impact of any significant new developments for the interest of the local industry.”