CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Steve Gatto. Market Opportunities Related to the Water Sector Are Expected to Reach USD 1 Trillion by 2025
Water is essential for life. But for years some parts of the world have taken their water supply for granted. And it’s easy to understand why. Crystal clear drinking water flows in abundance from the taps in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Many of us don’t give a second’s thought to the challenges that lie behind getting clean water to our taps or indeed how much of this finite resource we consume on a daily basis.
But for most of the world, clean drinking water is a precious commodity. Although water covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface, we must rely on annual precipitation for our actual water supply. About two-thirds of annual precipitation evaporates into the atmosphere, and another 20-25% flows into waterways and is not fit for human use. This leaves only 10% of all rainfall available for personal, agricultural and industrial use.
Moreover, precipitation is not evenly distributed: 1.2 billion people are living in areas of water scarcity. What’s more, pollution has made much of that water undrinkable and unsafe for use. Meeting the world’s increasing water needs has fast become one of the biggest challenges facing society.
But there is reason for optimism: in the past, a short- age of vital resources has driven the need to innovate, discover new materials and generate new technologies. The water challenge is no exception, and companies across the globe are seeking to find solutions to tackle the problem.
The RobecoSAM study ‘Water: the market of the future’ examines the key megatrends that are shaping the water market, and explores the investment opportunities that are arising from these trends:
Population growth
Aging infrastructure
Water quality improvements are necessary in many places
Climate change is altering the availability of water resources
Such trends generate risks and opportunities for companies and investors alike. Market opportunities related to the water sector are expected to reach USD 1 trillion by 2025. Companies that are early to respond and take steps to exploit the market opportunities associated with these water-related challenges are more likely to gain a competitive advantage and achieve commercial success.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrIgor de Maack, gestor de DNCA Invest Convertibles, en DNCA, boutique de Natixis. Foto cedida. DNCA (Natixis): “Mientras el mundo exterior no se desacelere demasiado rápido, el rally en renta variable continuará en Europa”
Europe will be the only area where growth will accelerate in 2015 and, as long as the outside world does not decelerate too quickly, the equity rally will continue. That is the conviction of Igor de Maack, Fund Manager at DNCA Invest Convertibles (Natixis). In this interview with Funds Society, the fund manager explains that he has more convictions in the domestic sectors in Europe or influenced by M&A (media, construction, telecoms). And in peripheral Europe vs core. But he advices: it would be dangerous to bet on an overly strong EPS recovery: “Some countries, especially in the emerging world, will not be EPS contributors for global companies”.
How optimist are you regarding Europe’s growth, and what about European companies?
Europe will be the only area where growth will accelerate in 2015. International and European bodies have all upwardly revised their growth prospects (>1,5%). When we compare EPS expectations, Europe will be the only territory where we can expect upward revisions. Why, just simply because the level of cumulated profit of the European corporates is 30% below their pre- crisis level. Even with a weak Euro, interest rates at historically low levels and cheap oil, Europe can still grow even with demand at relatively low levels.
Will the credit boost be the main driver of the economic recovery? Which other factors?
The distribution of credit is key for recovery in any type of liberal modern economy. With the introduction of LTRO and of European Quantitative Easing, data has shown some positive momentum in credit distribution by the European banks. It means that European consumers start to believe in better times and look for new projects. The other main driver for the current recovery in Europe has to do with politics. Structural reforms must be imposed and politicians need to provide the corporate and the individuals with adequate economical and fiscal frameworks.
How could this growth scenery affect equity markets in the next few months? Do you expect a rally in European equities?
When there is economic growth which is efficiently spread across economic sectors (private and public), this growth should be reflected in firms’ profit generation. If companies can borrow at low cost in order to easily finance their organic or external growth, then one should see a strong increase in their profits and therefore attractive valuation multiples. As long as the outside world does not decelerate too quickly, one can expect the equity rally to continue.
There is much consensus about the attractiveness of European equities at the moment… Could this be dangerous?
Valuation cannot be described as very cheap but they are cheaper following the recent correction. What is dangerous is to bet on an overly strong EPS recovery. Some countries, especially in the emerging world, will not be EPS contributors for global companies. Some sectors are already overpriced including, technologies, biotechs or high growth themes, Chinese equities. Beware of these bubbles.
Do you think central banks and the ECB are contributing to generate a bubble? Should investors take advantage of this context or protect themselves against an uncertain future?
The bubbles are created and destroyed by the economic agents themselves. Central banks are just here to ensure that the monetary systems have continuity. Their intervention are some times more relevant and meaningful. Investors should therefore take profit in these periods when money is cheap. It might be an historical moment.
Do you think last corrections due to the Greek crisis could generate opportunities to buy?
Yes but it never lasts long. The Greek crisis will come back. There will be other moments to invest into riskier assets (equities) but the rule is to invest progressively.
How do you see Greece’s agreement with Europe and what do you think it could mean to the markets?
The “Agreekment” was a relief for the markets but not for the Greek people. Their government has lost the battle and the war. Restructuring the Greek debt is inevitable in the near future. Europe has refused the “Diktat” from Tsipras but will need to send a strong message to all European people.
How does the Euro contribute to the impulse of the markets and in which levels do you see it vs dollar?
Euro is weak and therefore it is a competitive advantage for the exporting companies in the Euro zone. It also creates some imported inflation. Euro is a disguised Deutsche Mark. It should normally be stronger vs dollar when we look at the fundamentals of the Euro zone.
In which companies or sectors do you have more convictions?
In the domestic sectors in Europe or sectors influenced by M&A (media, construction, telecom). Banks are cheap and are value investments even though the pressure of regulation should imply a discount. With the recovery of credit distribution, they should see more interest income in their P&L.
Core Europe or peripheral? And what about Spain?
We prefer peripheral Europe to core but good investment deals are all across Europe. Spain is an investment territory for us but we must see political clarity after the elections.
Which all ECB measures… but also with the environment of the recovery of the corporates earnings, do you think is the moment to invest more with a macro or micro approach?
Micro-approach should be the winning lottery ticket. As we are now more confident in the macro approach, stock picking shall be the way forward.
. Aberdeen AM Expands its Wealth Management International Team with Paula Ojeda as Business Development Associate
Paula Ojeda joins the Wealth Management International team of Aberdeen AM, as Business Development Associate. She will be based out of Aberdeen’s New York Office.
Bev Hendry, Co-Head of Aberdeen in the Americas, says that “Paula will be an invaluable member of our team and will be integral in continuing to grow our market share in the U.S. Offshore and Latin American markets. Her sales and customer experience will be instrumental as we continue to expand our business and key partnerships.”
Paula will be working alongside Head of International Wealth Management Americas, Menno de Vreeze, and Business Development Managers, Damian Zamudio and Andrea Ajila, and will be based out of Aberdeen’s New York office.
Paula Ojeda joins Aberdeen after spending time at Proximo Spirits where she worked as a Commercial Finance Manager and has ample experience in sales, customer engagement and data analysis. Prior to Proximo, she worked several years at Diageo as Business Performance and Reporting Analyst as well as a Sr. Finance Analyst.
Paula graduated from Villanova University’s School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Double Minor in International Business and Real Estate. She is originally from Bogota, Colombia.
Photo: Scott S. PIMCO Gets a Wells Notice from SEC, a Lawsuit Could Be Coming
Bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co., commonly known as PIMCO, said that it is under investigation by the country’s top securities regulator over how it valued assets in one of its most popular funds aimed at small investors, according to Wall Street Journal.
The PIMCO Total Return Active ETF, an exchange-traded fund previously managed by star investor Bill Gross, has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for at least a year for allegedly artificially boosting returns from its trading of certain mortgage bonds. This investigation was first reported in September 2014.
The SEC has been looking at how PIMCO purchased and valued certain bonds in the ETF portfolio. Specifically, the SEC has been examining whether the fund bought these mortgage investments at discounted prices, but relied on higher valuations for the investments when the fund calculated the value of its holdings shortly thereafter.
PIMCO disclosed in a news release early this week that it received a so-called Wells notice from the SECconcerning the ETF, which means the agency’s staff intends to recommend a civil action against the firm related to its investigation. The notice isn’t a formal allegation of wrongdoing and won’t necessarily lead to an enforcement action.
The SEC is looking at a four-month time period between the fund’s launch on Feb. 29, 2012 and June 30, 2012, examining how PIMCO valued smaller-size positions in non-agency mortgage-backed securities purchased by the ETF during that time, according to the release. The agency is looking at the fund’s performance disclosures for that period, and at PIMCO’s compliance policies and procedures. While Bill Gross was still at PIMCO, he spent at least a day being interviewed by SEC officials. The SEC also has interviewed fund trustees and other executives at PIMCO.
In the release, the firm said that the Wells process “provides us with our opportunity to demonstrate to the SEC staff why we believe our conduct was appropriate, in keeping with industry standards and that no action should be taken. We will continue to engage with the SEC and we are confident that this matter will not affect our ability to serve our clients.”
During the first half of 2015, Natixis Global Asset Management has experienced a strong growth of its business, obtaining a new record of net inflows of US$ 33 billion worldwide and managing about US$ 923 billion in assets under management.
According to the latest information published about their earnings, Natixis Global Asset Management was profitable over the past first six months of this year. When comparing its first half revenues to those of 2014, it showed a solid growth in net revenues with an increase of 25% at current exchange rates. However, if constant exchange rates are used, the growth in net revenues is lower, with an increase of 8%. Moreover, the gross operating income of this first half has increased a 35% compared to last year first half.
The largest increase of net inflows came from their business in United States, with US$ 19 billion of net inflows or 57.6% of the total net inflows, which made a total in asset under management of US$ 471.8 in the United States.
The next largest bulk of net inflow came from Europe, where its net inflows totaled US$ 12 billion, making a total in asset under management of US$ 417.7 billion for the European region.
In Asia, the net inflows totaled US$ 0.8 billion, while the Asian assets under management made a whole sum of US$ 8.2 billion. The rest of net inflows, US$ 1.2 billion approximately, were not specifically assigned to any region, although the rest of asset under management, US$ 6.6 billion were attributed to the private equity division.
Lastly, it should be highlighted that there were strong flows in fixed-income for American and European affiliates with US$ 22 billion in net new money.
Photo: JImmyReu, Flickr, Creative Commons. GGM Capital Launches GGM Multistrategy, an IT-Centric Alternative Fund
GGM Capital, the investment banking IT focused boutique, is launching its new Technology-centric, open-ended fund under the umbrella of a Luxembourg SICAV-SIF. This new fund will have a target size above €50.0m and will invest in a diversified portfolio of equities, private equity/venture capital funds and corporate debt.
The objective is to achieve strong capital appreciation by investing in a diversified set of asset classes with various maturity levels, yields and risk profiles.
The asset allocation is outlined as follows: the equity portfolio, representing a majority of the invested assets at all times, will be composed of equities of technology companies listed in key financial markets such as NASDAQ, NYSE, LSE, Euronext and Xetra. For this purpose, GGM Capital will leverage on its extensive proprietary trading experience and in particular its strong track record developing successful intraday trading and short term swing strategies.
GGM Multistrategy will invest a smaller part of its assets under management in less liquid instruments, be it either investment funds or corporate debt, with generally a hold to maturity strategy. The objective of this part of the portfolio is to provide foreseeable returns with are not correlated with the equity portion of the portfolio.
GGM Capital will leverage of the combined 40+ years experience in capital markets of David Moix, Gabriel Padilla and Guillermo G. Morales as well as its positive track record achieved by GGM Capital managing venture capital investments in the technology space.
Guillermo G. Morales Lopez, Executive Chairman of GGM Capital said: “I’m excited to offer our investors a new innovative instrument leveraging on our experience and track record. We had been working hard in building up this amazing strategy during the last years and now we are pleased to offer this one of a kind investment opportunity to the market”.
Gabriel Padilla, Partner of GGM Capital added: “Our investors have asked us to develop an open-ended, diversified product to deepen their investment relationship with us. I believe we now have the right product for this purpose.”
Foto: Gregory Slobirdr Smith. Mirae Asset Global Investments expande su equipo de ventas en Estados Unidos
Mirae Asset Global Investments (USA) LLC, or Mirae Asset USA, the investment advisor for the Mirae Asset Discovery Funds, has announced that it has hired four new wholesalers to help drive mutual fund growth in the United States, according to PR Newswire.
Mirae Asset USA manages over US$ 5.3 billion in equity and fixed income assets. Its mutual fund products, such as the Emerging Markets Great Consumer Fund and the Asia Great Consumer Fund, focus on Asia-centric strategies that leverage Mirae Asset USA’s emerging market heritage and on-the-ground presence to deliver high-conviction portfolios and quality long-term performance for investors in the United States.
“At Mirae Asset USA, we add more to our advisor relationships by providing them with a consultative sales process and resource for emerging markets expertise that the advisory community can rely upon,” said John Capeci, Head of National Accounts and Mutual Fund Sales at Mirae Asset USA. “Our new wholesalers are instrumental in ensuring we maintain that standard as well as achieve our growth objectives in the U.S. through increased sales and distribution.”
Additions to the mutual fund sales team include:
Adam Young joins as a Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for Texas and Oklahoma. Before joining Mirae Asset USA, he provided advisor coverage for South Texas and Southern California as an Internal Sales Consultant at Invesco. Mr. Young is a graduate of the University of Houston and is a Certified Financial Planner.
Brian Malizia joins as a Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Mr. Malizia joins Mirae Asset USA from Alpine Woods Capital Investors, where he was responsible for covering financial advisory clients in the greater Chicago area. He is a graduate of Xavier University.
Patrick Przybylowski joins as an Internal Wholesaler for Northern California and New Jersey. Most recently Mr. Przybylowski worked as an Internal Wholesaler for KBS Capital Markets Group LLC and has seven years of industry experience. He is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College.
Timothy Spelman joins as an Internal Wholesaler for the New York Metro area and Southwest region. Mr. Spelman has nine years of industry experience and previously served as an Associate Sales Director at Third Avenue Management. He is a graduate of The Catholic University of America.
The external wholesalers report to John Capeci. The internal wholesalers report to John Whitaker, Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for Ohio and Michigan, who adds to his responsibilities the role of Sales Desk Manager for the firm’s newly-formed internal sales desk.
These hires add to the recent additions to the U.S. sales team of Tony Matheson, who serves as Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for Northern California, Washington, Oregon and Northern Nevada, William Clinton, who serves as Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and Christopher Begbie, who serves as the Regional Vice President and Emerging Markets Specialist for Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
Mirae Asset USA’s sales team now consists of 10 external wholesalers, three internal wholesales and one client portfolio manager.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrGilbert Addeo, nombrado COO de Investment Placement Group - foto cedida. Gilbert Addeo, nombrado director de operaciones de Investment Placement Group
Investment Placement Group (IPG) has announced that industry veteran Gilbert “Gil” Addeo has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development. Mr. Addeo, will be based in San Diego and report directly to Mr. Adolfo Gonzalez-Rubio, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IPG.
With over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Addeo will be an integral member of IPG’s executive leadership team with direct oversight of compliance, operations, trading, private banking, finance, information technology and business development.
Mr. Addeo most recently served as a Director at Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon Company, where he oversaw the international Relationship Management teams. Prior to that, Mr. Addeo served as the Head of Business Development and Relationship Management at Bear Stearns Clearing Corp.
Mr. Gonzalez-Rubio commented, “We are very happy to have Gil become part of the IPG team. Having known Gil for many years, I can say that he is a talented leader and brings a lot of expertise to IPG. I look forward to working with Gil and I am confident with his leadership we can achieve our goals of attracting new advisors to our platform.”
Mr. Addeo commented, “I am very excited to become part of the IPG team. IPG is a great organization with a 30 plus year history of success and clear vision of growth in both international and domestic markets. IPG has all the tools from dynamic global trading in Equites, Fixed Income options and commodities, partnerships with the top clearing and custody platforms in the industry and access to various investment products for our clients. This is the perfect environment for advisors looking to gain independence with a fully developed platform to support them. I look forward to the opportunities ahead.”
Foto: EvelynGiggles, Flickr, Creative Commons. Schroders incorpora a Chris Hsia y Mei Huang a su equipo de Multiactivos
Schroders has announced two further hires within Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions (MAPS), a business which manages £75.5 billion (as at 30 June 2015) on behalf of its clients globally.
Chris Hsia joins Schroders as Product Manager for MAPS, from Morgan Stanley where he spent the last 16 years, most recently as the Chief Investment Officer for Bank Morgan Stanley AG and as the Head of Investment Products & Solutions for International Wealth Management within Morgan Stanley &Co. As MAPS Product Manager Chris will help drive the product-led communications of a selection of MAPS strategies. Chris will work with Schroders regional Product Managers, relevant consultant and distribution teams to ensure Schroders’ clients have all of the relevant information that they require. Chris will report to Henriette Bergh, Head of UK and European Product & Manager Solutions.
Mei Huang joins Schroders as Quantitative Analyst, from the Global Equities research division of HSBC Asset Management. Prior to this Mei worked at AQR Capital Management LLC as Portfolio Manager within the Global Stock Selection (GSS) team. There Mei co-managed AQR’s global equities funds and strategies. Mei will report to Peter Weidner, Head of Advanced Beta, Multi-asset Quantitative Research and will be responsible for researching and constructing advanced beta equity strategies.
Nico Marais, Head of Multi-asset Investments and Portfolio Solutions commented: “Strengthening our ability to interact with clients around investment outcomes and building our Advanced Beta capabilities are key initiatives. We are therefore pleased to have Chris and Mei join the MAPS team in their respective roles.”
Foto: Getty Images. Aberdeen compra Arden Asset Management para fortalecer su plataforma global de alternativos
Aberdeen Asset Management Inc announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Arden Asset Management LLC, a provider of hedge fund solutions with offices in New York and London.
This acquisition is in line with Aberdeen’s strategy to strengthen and grow its global alternatives platform encompassing multi-manager research and selection across hedge funds, private equity, and property along with direct investments in infrastructure projects. This means that Aberdeen can offer its clients access and exposure to high quality alternative investments across liquid strategies, private markets and real assets.
Arden is a hedge fund specialist that creates and manages hedge fund portfolios across the liquidity spectrum using its proprietary manager selection and portfolio construction processes. Arden advises on and manages assets on behalf of a wide range of clients, including corporate and state pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, global bank platforms and retail investors. In 2012, Arden launched an innovative, daily liquidity product into the US market providing diversified, alternative investment strategies allocating to many brand name underlying hedge fund managers. The business is complementary to Aberdeen’s existing hedge fund solutions capability and the two teams will be fully integrated. This will position Aberdeen as a leading hedge fund investor with over 30 investment professionals and around US$ 11 billion of assets under management for the combined team.
The transaction provides key benefits to Aberdeen, it grows Aberdeen’s alternatives platform and enhances their position in the US and global institutional investor market. It represents immediate entry into portfolios of liquid alternative products in the US and adds US-based investment professionals, with an investment process which is highly complementary to Aberdeen’s, broadening their global platform.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from the UK FCA and notification to the Irish Central Bank. It is also subject to obtaining the approval of the Board of Trustees and shareholders of certain mutual funds. The aim is to complete the transaction during the fourth quarter of 2015.
In May, Aberdeen announced the acquisition of FLAG Capital Management, a manager of private equity and real asset solutions. Aberdeen’s alternatives platform, overseen by Andrew McCaffery, Global Head of Alternatives, will have total assets under management of over US$ 30 billion following completion of both transactions.
Pakenham Partners and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as financial advisor and legal advisor to Aberdeen on this transaction. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as financial advisor and legal advisor to Arden.
Commenting on the transaction, Martin Gilbert, ChiefExecutive of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, said: “Institutional investors are looking to hedge fund solutions to offer risk-return profiles not available via mainstream strategies and traditional asset classes. The acquisition of Arden emphasizes further Aberdeen’s commitment to diversifying its overall business and to growing its alternatives platform. The deal significantly strengthens our hedge fund solutions capability and expands our global client base. Arden’s liquid alternatives platform in the US is particularly attractive as it provides investors with exposure to a portfolio of hedge fund-like strategies but importantly offers daily liquidity.”
Commenting on the transaction, Averell Mortimer, CEO & Chairman of Arden, said: “We are thrilled to be joining Aberdeen, a leader in the global asset management industry. The deal creates a combined hedge fund platform with international reach overseen by an experienced team of investment and operational professionals. Becoming part of Aberdeen will enable us to share ideas and best practice that will assist in continuing to build on our proven track record of developing customized hedge fund and liquid alternative solutions for clients worldwide.”
