Launch of S&P 500 Catholic Values Index

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Launch of S&P 500 Catholic Values Index
Foto: El Coleccionista de Instantes Fotografía & Video . S&P DJI lanza un índice de valores católicos

S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index which is designed to include the companies within the S&P 500 whose business practices adhere to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (US CCB) and exclude those that do not.

The Index has been licensed to Global X for product development.

The S&P 500 Catholic Values Index is the first Catholic index based on such a prominent benchmark as the S&P 500. Constituents are screened to exclude companies who are involved in the following activities that are perceived to be inconsistent with Catholic values as set out by the US CCB, such as:

  • Biological weapons, chemical weapons, cluster bombs, landmines
  • Nuclear weapons– any exposure to whole systems and strategic par
  • Conventional Military sales– companies that have their primary business activity as military products
  • Child labor employmentin the company’s operation or in supply chain

“Sustainable issues represent one of the most important cost and revenue drivers in the modern corporate world,” says Julia Kochetygova, Head of Sustainability Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices.”By selecting stocks that comply with the US CCB, the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index aims to include companies with resilient business profiles by addressing the ethical challenges that can make a stronger investment case.  We are excited to be working with Global X by licensing this new and innovative index to them.”

“As a client-focused ETF company, Global X consistently strives to find new paths that help support our clients’ businesses,” Jim Glowina, Regional Consultant at Global X adds. “Global X is excited to bring to market a custom ETF, which seeks to provide a solution for a client’s chosen investment strategy.”

“I welcome the creation of the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index and support its specific selection rules. It is important that investors now have a representative measure of the performance of those S&P 500 companies that adhere to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,” states Father Seamus Finn O.M.I., Chief of Faith Consistent Investing, Oblate International Pastoral Investment Trust.

 

Suramericana is to acquire RSA’s Latin American operations

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Suramericana, Grupo SURA´s insurance and risk management subsidiary, announces that it has reached a definite agreement to acquire RSA Insurance Group’s operations in Latin America, for a total of GBP 403 million, that represents COP 1,910,750 million (US$ 614 million) for 99.6% of the equity, payable in cash.

RSA’s Latin American operations represent a leading, geographically-diversified P&C franchise within the region, with a presence spanning Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. The aforementioned operations posted total assets of COP 6,181,628 million (US$ 1.9 billion) at year-end 2014; this in addition to net reserves worth COP 1,964,868 million (US$ 631 million), and total gross written premiums amounting to COP 3,362,834 million (US$ 1.1 billion).

With this acquisition, Suramericana will consolidate its position in the Latin American insurance market. It shall become a top player in Chile and Uruguay, and #9 in Argentina. As for Mexico and Brazil, the largest markets in Latin America, the Company shall be entering new market niches offering substantial growth potential, while in Colombia it would be strengthening its existing offering and consolidating its leading position.

“This transaction represents a unique opportunity to expand our presence across the fast-growing Latin American markets. We are certain that this new acquisition shall create value for all our clients, as well as for us in Suramericana, our parent company Grupo SURA and the Organization as a whole, through the diversification of  our geographical risk, sharing of best practices and harnessing of synergies, while at the same time allowing us to develop new markets” stated Gonzalo Alberto Pérez, CEO of Suramericana S.A.

Suramericana is well-known for building long term relationships and implementing world-class standards in all countries where present. The Company will consolidate this new acquisition, with the help of RSA’s recognized human talent in the region, while capitalizing Suramericana´s 70 years of experience and expertise in the insurance sector.

Now that it has acquired RSA’s Latin American operations, Suramericana shall be extending its current presence in Colombia, Panamá, Dominican Republic and El Salvador, thereby consolidating its position as one of the most important insurance companies in the region with over 15.6 million clients.

At the same time, Grupo SURA, Suramericana’s parent company, has welcomed this acquisition as part of the organization´s strategy to develop a wider range of financial services within the region. “This transaction is being carried out maintaining the highest corporate governance standards, fulfilling our expectations in terms of corporate reputation, senior management capabilities, and business practices”, stated David Bojanini, CEO of Grupo SURA.

Market Volatility Shifts China Markets From Overvalued to Possibly Undervalued

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Amidst recent market volatility, the change in China’s stock market has been quite dramatic, shifting from overvalued to possibly undervalued according to data from Thomson Reuters Fundamental Research. Following the Chinese stock market crash, the 360 day growth rate is now a more reasonable 37% compared to a lofty 150% from just a month ago, and the difference between the five year growth rates has swung into positive territory. More details follow:  

“A month ago, our StarMine data warned that the Chinese markets seemed overvalued at the time,” said Sridharan Raman, senior research analyst at Thomson Reuters. “With the crash in markets over the past few weeks, the market may be discounting stocks more than necessary, out of fear or panic. Our models now show that the markets may actually be undervalued now in China.”

Countries with the smallest differential between StarMine’s Market Implied Growth Rate and the Compound Annual Growth Rate show where market expectations for growth are above, or match, analyst expectations for the next five years, representing possibly over- or fair- valued markets.  After the recent stock market collapse, the difference between market expectations for growth and analysts’ expectations in China has moved from -0.2% in early June to 7.7%; more in line with possible undervalued markets.

Analysis was conducted on all markets (countries) with more than fifty mid and large cap companies. A total of 26 countries were included.

Roderick Munsters to Leave Robeco

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Roderick Munsters, CEO de Robeco, deja su cargo
. Roderick Munsters to Leave Robeco

Robeco Group announces the departure of Roderick Munsters, who will resign as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Management Board.  Mr. Munsters will leave once a smooth handover to his successor has been completed.

Roderick Munsters, said: “Two years after the acquisition by our new shareholder, Robeco is in good shape with a solid financial performance and a strong long-term strategy. This is therefore a natural moment for me to hand over my responsibilities to new leadership. Although I will stay with the company for a few more months to ensure a seamless transition, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues for six successful years of working together to achieve great results for our clients.”

Dick Verbeek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: “We are grateful to Roderick for his commitment to Robeco as our CEO over the past six years and his contribution to the development of the company, including the successful transition process following the acquisition of a majority stake in Robeco by ORIX. We wish him every success in pursuing his professional ambitions.”

Makoto Inoue, President and Chief Executive Officer of ORIX Corporation and member of Robeco’s Supervisory Board, said: “I want to thank Roderick for his contribution and the commitment he has shown in leading Robeco. Under his leadership the company has shown strong results and he has built a solid foundation for Robeco’s future growth.”

The Supervisory Board, working in close cooperation with Robeco’s shareholders, will name a successor for Mr. Munsters in the near future. An official announcement will be made once this process, including obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals, is completed.

Man GLG Launches Unconstrained Emerging Equity Strategy for Simon Pickard and Edward Cole

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Man GLG lanza una estrategia de bolsa emergente sin restricciones liderada por los ex Carmignac Simon Pickard y Edward Cole
Photo: Dennis Jarvis. Man GLG Launches Unconstrained Emerging Equity Strategy for Simon Pickard and Edward Cole

Man GLG, the discretionary investment management business of Man Group, announced  that it has launched an unconstrained emerging equity strategy.

Available from September 1st, the strategy – run by co-portfolio managers Simon Pickard and Edward Cole, who joined Man GLG from Carmignac Gestion in May 2015 – focuses on seeking out attractive opportunities for investors over the longer-term, with a view to generating returns above the MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index.

The long-only strategy seeks to blend value, quality, momentum and macro styles to create an actively managed and diversified portfolio of emerging market securities which the managers believe are mispriced on a long-term cashflow-derived valuation basis.

The strategy will typically hold around 50 stocks from a universe of around 300 stocks which conform to the managers’ screening process, with a pipeline of potential candidates aimed at ensuring only the most attractive opportunities are included in the portfolio.

Pickard and Cole have extensive experience of investing in emerging market securities. Pickard was formerly head of emerging market equities at Carmignac Gestion, running its large and mid-cap global emerging markets strategies for the last six years.

Cole was formerly a portfolio manager at Carmignac Gestion, co-managing its emerging market multi-strategy portfolio. He has 14 years of experience in financial markets and has previously worked as a co-manager for emerging markets strategies at Ashmore Group and Finisterre Capital.

Teun Johnston, Co-CEO of Man GLG, said: “Launching an unconstrained emerging equity strategy forms a key pillar in the development of Man GLG’s Long Only business. Simon and Edward are highly experienced investors, with significant trading expertise in emerging markets and we believe that this, combined with Man GLG’s robust infrastructure, will create a compelling proposition.”

Simon Pickard, Co-Portfolio Manager, said: “Businesses situated in emerging markets have the opportunity to exploit considerable structural under-penetration for their goods and services. This opportunity is undiminished by the current economic climate, and we see attractive entry points in terms of valuation. Against this backdrop we believe our stock-specific, active approach has the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors.”

Edward Cole, Co-Portfolio Manager, added: “Global deflationary forces are creating considerable volatility in emerging markets, but the situation will not remain like this indefinitely. Indeed such a backdrop presents what we view as a significant opportunity for us to build up a portfolio of stocks whose potential return on capital is high and which we believe are valued at much more attractive free cashflow yields than the market”

The Agnelli Family Completes the Sale of Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ

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The Agnelli Family Completes the Sale of Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ
Foto: Matthias Rhomberg . Los Agnelli cierran la venta de Cushman & Wakefield a DTZ

EXOR, one of Europe’s leading listed investment companies -controlled by the Agnelli Family and with a NAV (Net Asset Value) of $14 billion, has this month closed the sale of its entire shareholding in Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ, a company owned by an investor group composed of TPG, PAG and OTPP.

Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ will now merge to create one of the world’s largest real estate services companies in a transaction that establishes a total enterprise value for Cushman & Wakefield of $2.042 billion. The deal generates net proceeds of $ 1.278 billion in respect of EXOR’s 75% shareholding in Cushman & Wakefield, representing a capital gain for EXOR of approximately $ 722 million.

DTZ owners, TPG Capital, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, have made clear their commitment to investing in the combined company’s future growth as well as retaining and capitalising upon Cushman & Wakefield’s outstanding senior management and brokerage talent.

Under the leadership of Cushman & Wakefield CEO, Ed Forst, in 2014 the company delivered record results in terms of revenues and margins, with commissions and service fee revenues of $2.1 billion, Adjusted EBITDA of $175.4 million and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.4%. When EXOR acquired its controlling stake in Cushman & Wakefield in March 2007, commissions and service fee revenues were $1.5 billion, EBITDA stood at $116 million and the firm’s EBITDA margin was 7.6%.

Commenting on the transaction, John Elkann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EXOR, said upon announcement of agreement on May 11th: “We are proud to have enabled Cushman & Wakefield build on its strengths, in the face of very challenging markets, to become the great business it is today. Our belief in the Cushman & Wakefield brand and our confidence in the outstanding professionalism of its people have been rewarded not only in the record performance delivered by Ed and the management team in 2014 but also in the ambition they have demonstrated to take the business into a new era of growth and development.”

Pioneer Investments Hires New Institutional Business Development Officer In The U.S.

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Pioneer Investments Hires New Institutional Business Development Officer In The U.S.
Foto: Bert Kaufmann . Pioneer Investments ficha a John Black para dirigir el Desarrollo de Negocio Institucional en EE.UU.

Pioneer Investments announced that it has named John Black as Senior Vice President, Institutional Business Development Officer in the U.S. based in Boston. This is a new position.

“We’re building strong momentum in our institutional business and John will further strengthen our team,” said Bill Porter, Senior Vice President and Head of Institutional – North America. “We’re seeing increasing acceptance of our capabilities in the institutional market across a range of strategies. John has more than 20 years of experience within various segments of the institutional market and has developed a number of strong relationships over the course of his career that will be a welcome addition to Pioneer,” Porter added.

John is Pioneer’s second senior institutional sales hire this year. Michael Dirstine, who also has 20 years of experience in the institutional market, joined Pioneer in June.

Prior to joining Pioneer Investments, John was Senior Vice President, Institutional Sales at McKenzie Investments Corp. in Toronto, Ontario,where he worked closely with Consultant Relations to prioritize U.S. prospects and execute sales strategies.  Prior to that, John was Vice President of Institutional Sales at State Street Global Advisors in Boston from 2007 to 2013 and Vice President of Institutional Brokerage Sales from 2004 to 2007. Before State Street, John was Vice President of Institutional Sales, Securities Lending and Prime Brokerage at Goldman Sachs in Boston and New York from 1997 to 2004. John holds a B.A. in Economics from Colby College. He is series 7 and 63 licensed.

Credit Quality in Chile Poised to Withstand Slow Economic Growth and Weak Commodity Prices

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La calidad crediticia de Chile resiste pese a un menor crecimiento y la caída de las materias primas
Photo: Michelle Bachelet / Courtesy photo. Credit Quality in Chile Poised to Withstand Slow Economic Growth and Weak Commodity Prices

Chile’s (Aa3 stable) strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the sound credit fundamentals of its banks, and the market positions and access to funding for its rated non-financial companies will help the sovereign maintain its credit quality despite slowing growth stemming from domestic factors and a drop in global commodities prices, says Moody’s Investors Service.

Chile derives its fiscal strength, which ranks among the strongest of all sovereign issuers that Moody’s rates globally, from its low debt metrics and policy stability, according to the report “Credit Quality in Chile: Banking, Corporate Sectors Poised to Withstand Slow Growth, Policy Shifts.”

Contrary to market concerns, none of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s proposed policy changes appear likely to affect Chile’s main debt metrics, nor is the administration changing the country’s key macroeconomic and fiscal policies. The president has pursued an aggressive agenda including new taxes, changes to the education system, and possibly constitutional reform later in 2015, and both the pace and nature of the reforms have raised questions about a possible shift in Chile’s longstanding fiscal policy. Nevertheless, Chile’s growth through mid-2016 will be close to the median among its regional peers, with a low debt burden and among the strongest fiscal positions of any rated sovereign issuer worldwide. The administration believes the tax reform will increase government revenues by 2%-3% of GDP by 2018.

“While the record-low approval ratings of President Michelle Bachelet and her aggressive reform agenda threaten to upend the political stability that has dominated since Chile returned to democracy in 1989, neither will cause Chile’s debt burden to increase during President Bachelet’s term,” says Marianna Waltz, a Moody’s Managing Director. “Most of the proposed changes would be funded by increasing tax revenues, a credit benefit because it will not raise the country’s debt burden.”

Credit quality still fundamentally strong for Chile’s banks

The credit quality of Chile’s banks remains similarly strong as a result of their ample access to funding. The banks are increasingly using the local capital market to support loan growth.

Chile’s banks continue to exhibit sound credit fundamentals despite the country’s maturing investment cycle and softer domestic demand, as well as uncertainty caused by the new government’s reform agenda. Emerging political issues appear unlikely to have any direct effects on the performance of Chile’s banking system. While asset quality will likely deteriorate slightly amid economic uncertainty, the country’s banks have access to ample funding today.

“Delinquencies will rise slightly amid slow economic growth, but proactive management of credit growth, asset allocation and reserves will help limit problems with asset quality,” says Waltz. Chilean banks will continue to enjoy ample access to funding sources as the economy begins to strengthen.

Reforms and weak commodity prices reduce consumption and investments

Furthermore, Chile’s rated non-financial companies all have strong market positions and access to uncommitted local bank funding, and will maintain their good access to international sources, even if reduced investment makes it less necessary.

Chile’s slowing growth will strain profitability and demand through at least mid-2016 for domestic retailers, which rely on consumption, and weak commodities prices and rising production costs will constrain profitability for copper producer CODELCO in Chile’s crucial mining sector. But operating income for pulp producers Arauco and Inversiones CMPC will improve through at least mid-2016, partly from the peso’s depreciation and partly from increased volume from recent capacity additions and higher hardwood pulp prices.

Moody’s expects GDP growth to improve in 2015-16 despite the challenges of weaker investment this year.

SL Green Acquires Eleven Madison Avenue in the Biggest Real Estate Deal in New York

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Eleven Madison Av. cambia de manos en la mayor operación inmobiliaria de Nueva York
Photo: Jeffrey Zeldman . SL Green Acquires Eleven Madison Avenue in the Biggest Real Estate Deal in New York

SL Green Realty, New York City’s largest commercial property owner, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eleven Madison Avenue in New York City for $2.285 billion plus approximately $300 million in costs associated with lease stipulated improvements to the property. The building is being sold by a joint venture of The Sapir Organization and CIM Group. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.

Eleven Madison Avenue is a 29-story, 2.3 million square foot Class-A, Midtown South office property that was built in 1929 and originally served as the headquarters of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. After a $700 million modernization in the 1990s, it became the North American headquarters of Credit Suisse, which continues to be the largest tenant in the building today. It also will serve as the new headquarters for Sony Corp. of America. The balance of the building is occupied by Yelp, Young & Rubicam, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and Fidelity Investments, along with the Eleven Madison Park restaurant, which earned Three Stars from the Michelin Guide

The property features an art-deco design highlighted by an Alabama limestone exterior, elegantly appointed main lobby, state of the art building systems, and large floor plates. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

SL Green Co-Chief Investment Officer, Isaac Zion, commented, “Eleven Madison Avenue is one of the best assets in New York City’s vibrant Midtown South submarket, with floor-plate sizes, amenities, and a robust infrastructure that are truly unique to the area. Occupying a full block across from Madison Square Park, the building has direct connectivity to One Madison Avenue, a 1.2 million square foot building that is leased to Credit Suisse and also owned by SL Green.”

“After the past two years of repositioning the asset and value creation through leaseup and renovations, we are pleased to consummate this sale with SL Green”, said Alex Sapir, President of the Sapir Organization. “We trust that they will continue to own and operate this trophy asset in the same manner that we have over the past 12 years.”

The law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP represented SL Green. The seller was represented by Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan of CBRE, Inc. along with the law firm of DLA Piper (US).

 

Completion of Flag Acquisition Establishes Aberdeen’s Investment Capabilities in Global Alternatives

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Aberdeen completa la adquisición de FLAG CM y fortalece sus capacidades en activos alternativos a nivel global
Foto: Kevin Dooley. Completion of Flag Acquisition Establishes Aberdeen’s Investment Capabilities in Global Alternatives

Aberdeen Asset Management announced that it has completed the acquisition of FLAG Capital Management, a diversified private markets manager with offices in Stamford, CT, Boston, MA, and Hong Kong.

The acquisition, together with the previously announced purchase of SVG Capital’s stake in the joint venture Aberdeen SVG Private Equity Managers, sees Aberdeen join a small number of private equity managers with investment professionals on the ground in the world’s major markets. The combined team now has around 50 such professionals in the US, Europe and Asia.

Since inception, FLAG has raised over $7 billion of discretionary commitments from its broad client base. FLAG’s investments are focused on venture capital, small- to mid-cap private equity, and real assets in the US, as well as private equity in Asia.

These acquisitions are part of Aberdeen’s strategy to grow its alternatives business via multi-manager hedge funds, property and private market allocations, direct infrastructure investments and pan-alternative capabilities. A recent PWC report predicted total investment in alternative assets would nearly double to $15.3 trillion by 2020.

In addition to the acquisition of FLAG, Aberdeen announced on August 4, 2015 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Arden Asset Management, a specialist hedge fund manager and adviser with offices in New York and London. Arden’s clients span corporate and state pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, global bank platforms and retail investors. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2015.

Following the completion of the Arden transaction, Aberdeen’s alternatives division, under Global Head of Alternatives Andrew McCaffery, will have $30 billion of assets under management.

Andrew McCaffery, Global Head of Alternatives at Aberdeen Asset Management, comments: “The acquisition of FLAG is very important for our alternatives business. Alternatives are becoming increasingly popular with investors who are seeking diversification. But to be a credible provider you

have to be able to compare markets and sectors globally and then drill down and understand what’s happening on the ground. This deal will help us meet that aim. We are now one of a handful of private equity investors with genuine local expertise in the US, Europe and Asia.”