CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrIleana Salas será la responsable de mantener las relaciones en mercados clave de Europa y LatAm y del desarrollo de nuevos mercados. Foto cedida. Ileana Salas: nueva responsable global de Ventas Institucionales de Santander AM
Santander Asset Management (SAM) has appointed Ileana Salas as Global Head of Institutional Sales, as the business looks to further develop its institutional capabilities globally.
Based in London, Ileana will be responsible for building and leading SAM’s global institutional sales capability, and introducing SAM to new markets, whilst leveraging its large and long standing presence in key countries in Europe and Latin America, including the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Ileana will also lead the development of SAM’s key relationships with Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Plans, Investment Consultants, Corporates, Insurers, Wholesale clients and Family Offices.
Ileana joins SAM from Bradesco Asset Management where she served as Head of Business Development and Sales for Europe and the Middle East for over four years. Prior to this, Ileana held senior business development roles at ABN Amro, Gartmore Investment Management, and Schroders. Ileana holds an MBA from Babson College.
Juan Alcaraz, Santander Asset Management Global CEO, said: “Developing our institutional business globally is a core part of our strategic growth plans, and reflects our overall ambitions to be a global leading provider of investment solutions to clients”.
“With over 20 years experience in institutional sales, Ileana has a long and strong track record of success in developing and building institutional businesses and leading global distribution teams. She is a strong addition to our senior leadership team and Executive Committee. We look forward to working with her to drive our institutional business forward, and supporting our overall growth ambitions”.
Foto: OTA Photos. Beamonte Investments México invertirá en Master Kiwi
Beamonte Investments, along with its affiliate, Beamonte Mexico Holdings SAPI de CV (“Beamonte”), has announced their investment inOrigin Bit SAPI de CV (“Master Kiwi”), an innovative platform that simplifies video game creation for designers and helps with marketing campaigns. The transaction is scheduled to close during the summer and the value was not disclosed.
Master Kiwi is the winner of the first Venture Academy in Mexico. Venture Academy in an intensive boot camp divided in six modules, including Management 101, Valuations, Term sheets, and Financing. The first Boot Camp was held in Mexico City May 27, 2015 to May 29, 2015. More than 45 entrepreneurs participated.
Claudia Yan of Venture Academy said “We are exited to be creating a platform where we can teach entrepreneurs like Alejandro and Master Kiwi and help them to develop the skills needed to raise institutional money. The first Boot camp was a tremendous success thanks to partners like Cinepolis, Posible, and Coopel.” The next Venture Academy boot camp will be held in late August in Monterrey, Mexico and will accommodate up to 50 entrepreneurs.
Master Kiwii was founded in February of this year by CEO Alejandro Hernandez, and has been incubated in class of 2014 by Wayra Mexico the accelerator of Telefonica, the company offers a platform with a wide catalog of pre-designed games where, through a visual, simple, and intuitive interface, it is possible to generate games in minutes aligned to the branding and image of a company potentiating the marketing campaigns.
Luis F. Trevino, Senior Managing Director at Beamonte Investments commented, “We are exited to invest in Master Kiwi and help them to grow the company to the next level. We see a huge potential in a platform like Master Kiwi that can create a video game in seconds
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: European Parliament
. Three Elements Key to Watch After the Greek Population Voted "NO"
The Greek population voted “NO” by a comfortable margin (61%- 39%) and handed the Syriza government another political victory. This will probably energize Prime Minister Tsipras and his team, but will also create huge uncertainty over the future of Greece in the Eurozone and lead to intensifying immediate economic hardship in Greece. At this time it remains unclear if and when banks will be able to re-open. Also, it might well be that deposit and savings haircuts (of those people the Syriza government claims to protect) will be on the table to prevent complete banking sector meltdown.
Without a deal in the near-term between Greece and its creditors, a renewed and sharp recession in Greece seem likely. Both length and depth of such a contraction are still very uncertain and will depend on the evolution of domestic politics within Greece, the ability to get some kind of a deal that will allow for Greece to stay within the Eurozone or the social and political stability in the aftermath of Grexit.
Three elements now key to watch
NN Investment Partners thinks there are three elements will be key to watch in the ECB’s policy response to this political crisis. The way the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) is managed (to what extent will it remain open for Greek banks), the application of haircuts to the collateral that Greek banks need to post at the ECB and new measures to tackle liquidity issues in other parts of European financial markets. The balance between these three potential ECB measures will be crucial for the sentiment in financial markets and, thereby, the degree of damage to the European economy.
“In the end, however, we have a high conviction that the ECB is willing and able to limit lasting damage from short-term contagion into other European markets. Especially since it is now operating against backdrop of a more unified political front in all of the other member states of the Eurozone that will allow for effective political support for creative policy action, if needed”, point out the firm.
This basically means that significant declines in some market segments (peripheral equities/bonds, European equities, the euro) over the next couple of days cannot be excluded, but also that Eurozone break-up risk remains very small. The latter is a completely different situation than 2-3 years ago and therefore leads to different investment conclusions. As long as the global cycle remains on track, the upcoming period of market volatility might provide an entry point for investors once visibility on the future direction for Greece increases and the accompanying policy response is clear.
“In the short-term, it keeps us cautiously positioned and more focused on reducing rather that adding risk. However, we’ll keep our asset allocation stance “close to the middle” and would only move more defensive once we see significant contagion in combination with disappointing policy response. For now, the latter is not our base case. As soon as more visibility on politics, policy and the impact on the global cycle is there, it could well be that we move back towards a more risk-on stance later in the summer. Obviously the situation remains very uncertain and we will be monitoring very closely if additional changes in our allocation stance are needed once the facts change in an unexpected way”, concluded.
. Standard Life Investments Expands Multi Asset Team
Standard Life Investments, the global fund manager, is pleased to announce that Gerry Fowler has been appointed as Investment Director, Idea Generation, within the Multi Asset Investment (MAI) Team.
Gerry, who was previously Global Head of Equity and Derivatives Strategy with BNP Paribas, will be part of the 57 strong team providing idea generation, investment recommendations and detailed implementation strategies for the range of MAI funds. Gerry will report directly to Guy Stern, Executive Director of Multi-Asset and Macro Investing at Standard Life Investments.
Commenting on the appointment, Guy Stern said: “Gerry is a highly skilled strategic analyst with a wealth of experience in equities and equity derivatives and will add to the already impressive range of knowledge and experience within the MAI team. Our Absolute Return and Multi Asset mandates draw on a range of sophisticated investment strategies investing across all asset classes. I’ve no doubt that Gerry’s depth of knowledge will add to our research capability and idea generation for our whole offering.
“Over the last 18 months we have launched four new Multi Asset products, the team is well resourced and we have excellent collaboration across all the fund management teams globally supporting the long term performance of our funds. We constantly strive to provide investors with the best possible solutions and that means having the right people in place to help understand and meet investor’s needs and expectations.”
The Board of Directors of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. announced the appointment of Jason A. Kulas as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kulas succeeds Thomas G. Dundon, the company’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in line with SCUSA’s Board-approved succession plan. Mr. Dundon will continue to serve as a member of the SCUSA Board of Directors and as a senior adviser to the company.
After successfully growing the SCUSA business over the last 20 years, including nine years as CEO, Mr. Dundon has decided to pursue new opportunities.
The Board of SCUSA has appointed Lead Outside Director Stephen Ferriss as interim Chairman, effective until the July 15 SCUSA annual meeting.
Mr. Dundon said: “I am proud to have been part of the company’s success and fortunate to have worked with so many outstanding, driven colleagues over the years. This is a great company and with Jason Kulas at the helm, supported by our talented management team, I am confident SCUSA will become an even stronger player in the consumer finance industry.”
Scott Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Santander Holdings USA and head of Santander’s operations in the United States, said: “We thank Tom for his vision and leadership as a founder of SCUSA, and a driver of its growth and success. Jason Kulas has the experience and strategic vision to lead SCUSA. Jason has been with SCUSA for eight years and has a deep understanding of its business, operations and people. I am confident in his ability to lead this business into the future.”
Mr. Kulas joined the company in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer, after covering SCUSA, since its founding, as an investment banker at JPMorgan. As CFO, he oversaw the company’s treasury, accounting, financial planning, capital markets and corporate strategy divisions. Mr. Kulas became President in 2013 and, since SCUSA’s IPO in 2014, has overseen the company’s corporate development, asset management, investor relations and various regulatory functions including the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. Mr. Kulas will join the Board of Directors of SCUSA and, subject to regulatory approvals, Santander Holdings USA.
Mr. Kulas said: “I am honored by the Board’s decision to name me as Tom’s successor. Tom was pivotal in growing the Company from a local start-up to a leading, national technology-driven consumer finance business. The changes in Tom’s role at SCUSA have been amicably agreed and are unrelated to the company’s performance or regulatory standing. On behalf of the company’s management team, I thank him for his valuable contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. This is an exciting time for the business and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we seek to grow the business in the months and years ahead.”
Jason Grubb, Chief Operating Officer, Originations of SCUSA, will succeed Mr. Kulas as President. Mr. Grubb joined SCUSA in 2004 as Senior Vice President of Servicing. He was Chief Operating Officer from January 2007to October 2014 and became Chief Operating Officer, Originations in October 2014. Prior to joining SCUSA, Mr. Grubb held positions at WFS Financial, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp, and Commercial Financial Services.
Jennifer Popp has been appointed interim Chief Financial Officer of SCUSA while a search is underway for a permanent replacement. Ms. Popp has served in the finance industry since 2001, and joined SCUSA in July 2012. She most recently served as Chief Accounting Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
In connection with Mr. Dundon’s departure as SCUSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Santander Holdings USA will, subject to the applicable regulatory approvals, exercise a call option to acquire all of the approximately 9.68% of SCUSA common stock held by DDFS LLC, an entity solely owned by Mr. Dundon.
Additional details regarding Mr. Dundon’s separation will be filed by SCUSA with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Giuseppe Milo
. Old Mutual Global Investors will Launch an Offshore Global Equity Income Fund
Old Mutual Global Investors announces its intention to launch the Old Mutual Global Equity Income Fund during the summer of 2015, subject to regulatory approval. The Fund, which will be managed by Ian Heslop, Amadeo Alentorn and Mike Servent will be a sub-fund of the Dublin domiciled Old Mutual Global Investors Series plc umbrella fund. This product will be core to Old Mutual Global Investors’ UK and offshore client base.
The Fund’s objective will be to achieve a total return through a combination of income and capital growth. The Fund will be designed to deliver a total return by targeting dividend yield and capital growth through a highly diversified global equity portfolio. The Fund will aim to provide monthly income above the benchmark (MSCI All Countries World Index). The investment team pursue a dynamic investment process, focused on stock selection through analysis of fundamental company data, but taking account of the macro environment and investor sentiment. The unique approach will generally provide significant diversification from concentrated, style-biased global equity income funds.
Ian Heslop, Head of Global Equities, comments: “We are really excited about the forthcoming launch of our Global Equity Income Fund. We believe that our unique approach to stock selection realises the appeal of being invested in a truly diversified fund. Unlike some of our peers who remain heavily weighted towards certain sectors, we are able to seek out compelling investment opportunities wherever these exist globally, irrespective of sector, country or region. We are also flexible so that the prevailing conditions and outlook can be incorporated in our process to ensure we have the greatest scope to deliver sustained outperformance. We believe our investment approach should therefore deliver an above industry level of monthly income whilst continuing to deliver capital growth”
The Fund benefits from the investment team’s strong, proven performance-driven culture which leverages a dynamic process, including continuous monitoring of the whole market in order to capture value across the broadest spectrum of larger-capitalisation stocks. The investment team will offer a significantly different source of alpha in global equity markets, run from the same platform as the multiple award winning Old Mutual Global Equity Fund, Old Mutual Global Equity Absolute Return Fund and the Old Mutual North American Equity Fund.
Warren Tonkinson, Head of Global Distribution, adds: “This is another important development for Old Mutual Global Investors, one that focuses on meeting the needs of our clients. From talking to investors it is very apparent that income generating strategies continue to be in demand and we have received a number of client requests for our highly respected, award-winning global equities team to launch a global equity income strategy. The investment performance track record this team, which consists of Ian, Amadeo and Mike, has delivered for investors in their current funds is outstanding. We are confident that the new fund will be equally successful.”
Old Mutual Global Investors is currently reviewing the UK Domiciled Old Mutual Global Equity Income Fund which is sub-advised by O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC.
Sophie del Campo, Managing Director, Natixis Global AM, Iberia, Latin America and US Offshore. Courtesy photo. Natixis GAM Announces Completion of DNCA Finance Acquisition
Natixis Global Asset Management recently announced the completion of the acquisition of DNCA Finance (DNCA), expanding its list of global affiliates and strengthening its position in European retail markets
As an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management, DNCA, a well renowned European investment management company, will have access to Natixis Global Asset Management’s centralized global distribution capabilities. DNCA will immediately broaden its European footprint, entering new markets including Spain and expanding its business in Germany and Switzerland. DNCA will maintain its independence while over time expanding its global presence as an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management.
DNCA has seen important growth in the last 2 years, tripling its assets from €5 billion to €16.5 billion today. Through the acquisition, DNCA will maintain its independent management approach and will offer institutional and retail investors expertise in European equities, long only and absolute return, multi-asset, convertible bonds and euro-zone bonds.
“The combination of DNCA’s proven track record, solid investment performance, controlled risk profile and strong brand name will make a substantial contribution to the further expansion of Natixis Global Asset Management’s multi-affiliate model and our strategy of growing the business in the European retail marketplace,” said Pierre Servant, CEO of Natixis Global Asset Management and member of the senior management committee of Natixis in charge of Investment Solutions.
“As an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management we will be able to replicate the success that we have had in France and Italy over the past 15 years and step up our international expansion. We believe that Natixis’ centralized global distribution platform will help us develop our retail and institutional business and provide investors with a range of simple and understandable funds that deliver results that strengthen their portfolios,” said Eric Franc, CEO of DNCA Finance.
Place Vendome, Paris.. Carmignac Adds US-Oriented Global Expertise in Communications, Media, Internet and Information Technology
As part of the ongoing recruitment drive conducted over recent years, Carmignac is once again boosting its fund management team with the arrival of a senior fund manager, David Older.
David Older will work in London, commencing on July. Working alongside Edouard Carmignac, he will be in charge of global fund exposure to Communications, Media, Internet and Information Technology. David will also contribute to generating investment ideas for other Carmignac funds.
Edouard Carmignac, Founder of Carmignac : “Thanks to David Older joining our team alongside our analyst Tim Jaksland, we are significantly increasing our investment expertise in Communications, Media, Internet and Information Technology stocks, four key sectors in our current positioning that will shape tomorrow’s world. We are also gaining considerable experience in alpha generation and long-short management, which will help us generate performance under all market conditions and give us the complete range of risk management expertise.
The ability to manage market risks has become a hallmark of Carmignac’s management style, particularly in 2002, 2008 and 2011 in Carmignac Patrimoine. This risk management culture has gradually permeated all the Carmignac family of funds, becoming an integral part of our brand, henceforth Carmignac Risk Managers. The complexity of financial markets is such that managing risks, now more than ever, represents a vital aspect of long-term asset management, aimed at helping our clients grow their savings. Carmignac is relentlessly endeavouring to enhance its expertise in this area.”
David Older, 45 years old, spent the past 12 years at SAC Capital/Point72 Advisors in New York, most recently as co-Sector Head of the Communications, Media, Internet and Technology vertical. Prior to this, Mr Older was an Investment Banking Associate in the Communications and Media group at Morgan Stanley. He gained an MBA at Columbia University, New York, following a BA from McGill University in Montreal.
Foto: LenDog64. John Hancock Investments entra en el negocio de los UCITS
John Hancock recently announced the launch of John Hancock Worldwide Investors, PLC, a Dublin-domiciled UCITS platform designed to extend the reach of firm’s signature manager-of-managers approach. Effective this week, the firm will make available four of its highly rated investment strategies targeted at non-US residents and UCITS model programs of our U.S. distribution partners.
As part of its commitment to this strategic market, John Hancock Investments has hired industry veteran Angela Billick to lead the UCITS product platform. Mrs. Billick will leverage her nearly 20 years of international business development experience in UCITS to serve the needs of investors.
“We are pleased to be able to provide our industry-leading manager selection and oversight capabilities to a new market,” said Andrew G. Arnott, President and CEO. “Our new UCITS platform is a natural continuation of the rapid growth we have experienced in the United States and a reflection of the strong demand we have received from our US broker/dealer partner firms for offshore funds that mirror some of our most popular US mutual funds.”
John Hancock Worldwide Investors, PLC is making available four of the firm’s most sought-after strategies in a choice of five UCITS share classes. These initial strategies are managed by portfolio teams at Manulife Asset Management and GMO Europe LLC:
John Hancock Strategic Income Opportunities Fund
John Hancock High Yield Fund
John Hancock U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund
John Hancock Global Equity (Ex.-U.S.) Fund
“We believe these four strategies help address today’s investor need for new sources of income, along with proven equity strategies with a measure of downside protection,” said Leo M. Zerilli, CIMA, head of investments at John Hancock Investments. “These are not simply challenges for U.S. investors; these are global challenges.”
John Hancock Investments is a premier asset manager with a unique manager-of-managers approach, whereby the firm builds funds based on investor needs, then searches the globe for the best managers with proven track records to lead those funds. John Hancock Investments has more than 165 professionals specializing in manager research and oversight, vetting over 250 investment strategies annually and overseeing relationships with 72 portfolio teams at 27 elite firms worldwide.
More than half of the world’s mutual fund assets reside outside the United States. The UCITS market is estimated to consist of more than $8 trillion in assets, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.
As the crackdown on “closet trackers” gathers pace in Europe, concerns are growing that the metric used to identify those funds that charge active management fees while merely hugging the index could undermine performance, according to the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge – Global Edition.
The regulatory spotlight has fallen on closet trackers recently. In May the Swedish government launched an investigation in the wake of the Swedish Shareholders’ Association filing a lawsuit against a leading fund house, alleging that it had mis-sold closet trackers to retail investors. Regulators in Denmark and Norway have also been proactive.
Cerulli Associates, a global analytics firm, notes that in response to heightening regulatory scrutiny more managers are voluntarily disclosing data showing the extent to which a fund’s portfolio diverges from its benchmark. “Active share” is the most commonly used measure, with a score less than 60% deemed to be index hugging.
“Active share, however, is no panacea and used in isolation is more likely to be misleading. It should be used alongside other relevant metrics, such as information ratio data showing the portfolio returns above the benchmark in relation to the volatility of those returns,” says Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli Associates.
Noting that there are times in an investment cycle when it might be prudent to stay close to the benchmark, Cerulli warns that a manager who feels obliged to maintain a certain active share is at risk of picking the wrong stocks simply to increase the deviation from the benchmark. Strict adherence to the tool may also prevent a manager from buying stocks that have a large weight in the index, even if they are expected to outperform.
Another limitation concerns the definition of being “active”, which typically refers to the actual shares that are owned. But “active” can also apply to a portfolio that largely adheres to the index, provided the manager has not simply taken a buy-and-hold approach and that performance is influenced by the timing of trades in those constituents.
Firms that are already disclosing the active share figure tend to have house management styles that are unconstrained in relation to benchmarks. Firms where the emphasis is on delivering outperformance with a relatively low-risk, low-active share element would be understandably anxious, says Cerulli, about publishing their active share figure. “They would also point out–with some justification–that a low active share doesn’t mean they are a closet tracker and that they should be judged on performance alone,” says Wall.
Cerulli believes that, used in conjunction with other metrics, active share can be a useful tool in promoting accountability and transparency. Laura D’Ippolito, a senior analyst at Cerulli, says: “Views within the European fund industry on the value of the active share figure differ widely, but what is clear is that the debate–which also takes in the active/passive issue–is only going to intensify.”
Other Findings:
With active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at long last gaining traction in the United States, active mutual fund managers should seriously consider offering their strategies in these securities, advises Cerulli. It notes, however, that the path to success remains difficult. Another structure the firm recommends is the new exchange-traded managed fund.
The penetration rate of mutual funds in Asia ex-Japan has dropped to about 6.5% of household financial assets (HHFA) in 2013 from 9% in 2009, despite HHFAs expanding at, or close to, double-digit rates annually. Cerulli believes that the decline can in part be attributed to the short-termism that drives investment–in Taiwan, for instance, Cerulli has found that fund retention ranges from about six to nine months for the average investor, while in China it can be as short as a month. The firm says that analysis of the decision-making provides useful insights for determining product selection.
In the United Kingdom, active management is no longer the be-all and end-all for discretionary investment managers, says Cerulli, noting that a combination of regulatory change and the low-growth environment is forcing firms to review costs and portfolios. Not only are passive funds now more common in discretionary portfolios, but their role–and that of active funds–is changing. The analytics firm says that active managers face a challenge in staying relevant in a world in which cost is king, passives are core, and sustainable alpha is key.
