Gold Bullion International (GBI) has announced the appointment of Jammy Chan as Head of Business Development for Asia. Mr. Chan will be responsible for sales and marketing of the firm’s precious metals solutions in Asia and will be based in Hong Kong.
“The investment appetite and sophistication for physical gold ownership are at an all-time high,” said Jammy Chan. “GBI offers a comprehensive solution for physical precious metals investment, featuring a robust platform for purchasing, global vaulting and insuring a wide range of products. GBI works with some of the largest wealth management firms in the United States and is looking to do the same in China. In fact, in the short time I have been at GBI, we have already added our first Hong Kong based wealth customer and are in a number of discussions with some of the region’s most prestigious institutions.”
Asia accounts for about two-thirds of global gold demand — with China and India the world’s top two consumers. These two countries alone account for about half of the world’s demand for gold.
Mr. Chan comes to GBI after four years as Head of Investment in China with the World Gold Council. He has held senior business development positions with Huaan Asset Management, Amundi and Fidelity. Over his 16 year career, Mr. Chan has covered business in the Greater China region from Hong Kong and also with onshore bases in Beijing and Shanghai. Mr. Chan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in finance from the University of Hong Kong and his MBA from Imperial College in London with full scholarship.
“We are very excited to expand our business into China, where gold is such an important asset class,” said Steven Feldman, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of GBI. “We continue to replicate our strategy in more regions around the globe. While our focus remains the wealth business, we are also launching GBI Direct internationally, often with local partners. Our Asian launch follows our recent debut in the Middle East, and having Jammy Chan on board makes us very confident that this region will be a great success.”
GBI is the leading institutional precious metals provider to individual investors and the wealth management industry. GBI’s technology and operations platform allows investors to acquire and manage their physical precious metal assets directly through their existing wealth management or e-commerce relationships, as well as directly through GBI Direct.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFlorent Rigaud nuevo director de la compañía con sede en Miami bFlexFunds - Foto cedida. Ex-director de la división de Pershing Latinoamérica se une a FlexFunds
Florent Rigaud, former Director of Pershing Latin America Division, recently announced his decision to accept the position of Director of Miami-based company, FlexFunds, working with asset managers on creating their FlexETP. FlexETP, a comprehensive vehicle for investment management and distribution, is wrapped and dispensed through a Euroclearable listed security, providing price (NAV) calculation and distribution, ISIN/CUSIP, Bloomberg page, trustee and audit services.
“This transition comes at a crucial time in the finance industry, where asset managers seeking custodial services, administration, and distribution, tend to undergo a process that dissuades growth and development by requiring more internal resources,” states Florent Rigaud. “With FlexETP, you benefit from a turnkey solution, quickly and easily establishing one of the most advantageous and flexible vehicles for raising capital and managing underlying assets. As the new Director of the New York office, I am thrilled with this opportunity and excited to witness FlexETP become a household name,” adds Florent Rigaud.
Mario Rivero, Director and Head of the FlexFunds Miami office, states, “It is a great privilege to welcome such an accomplished addition to our team. Florent is already proving himself to be a great asset, bringing with him 20 years’ experience in the industry with an established reputation in the region.”
Blackstone announced that Doug Ostrover will step down as a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and will become a Senior Adviser to the firm. Mr. Ostrover was, along with Bennett Goodman and Tripp Smith, one of the foundersof GSO, Blackstone’s alternative credit platform. Blackstone acquired GSO in 2008 and it now has assets under management of $75 billion. Mr. Ostrover intends to found a family office to invest capital and work alongside management teams.
Bennett Goodman and Tripp Smith,the co-heads of GSO, said, “Doug has been our great friend and colleague for the last 25 years. The success of GSO as the leading alternative credit platform in the market today is in no small measure the result of Doug’s creative thinking and energy. While we will miss him as a colleague, we are delighted that we will still have the benefit of his advice and counsel as a Senior Adviser.”
Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder of Blackstone, added, “On behalf of all of us at the firm, I want to thank Doug for his many contributions to Blackstone and GSO. He leaves behind a deep bench of finance professionals at GSO, whom he helped mentor and train over the years. I wish him well in the next stage of his career and I am glad that he is keeping a continuing affiliation with the firm.”
Before co-founding GSO in 2005, Mr. Ostrover was Chairman of the Leveraged Finance Group of CSFB. Mr. Ostrover received a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Stern School of Business of New York University.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Scott S.. SEC Proposes Rules To Modernize Information Reported By Investment Advisors
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday proposed rules to “modernize and enhance” the reporting and disclosure of information by investment companies and advisors.
The aim would be to increase the quality of information available to investors and allow the Commission to more effectively collect and use data.
“These recommendations will vastly improve the type and format of the information that funds provide to the Commission and to investors,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. “Investors will have better quality and greater access to information about their fund investments and investment advisors, and the SEC will have more and better information to monitor risks in the asset management industry.”
The SEC said the investment company proposals would enhance data reporting for mutual funds, ETFs and other registered investment companies, requiring a new monthly portfolio reporting form and annual reporting form.
“The information would be reported in a structured data format, which would allow the Commission and the public to better analyze the information,” the SEC said. “The proposals would also require enhanced and standardized disclosures in financial statements, and would permit mutual funds and other investment companies to provide shareholder reports by making them accessible on a website.”
The proposed amendments to Investment Advisers Act Rule 204-2 would require advisors to maintain records of performance calculations and communications related to performance.
The comment period for the proposed rules will be 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: ankakay
. Moneda Asset Management Announces US$100 Million Investment from CPPIB Credit Investments Inc.
Moneda Asset Management announced today that CPPIB Credit Investments Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Canada’s largest pension fund manager with C$264.6 billion in assets, has made a US$100 million investment into the Moneda Deuda Latinoamericana fund, which is managed by Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos.
The Moneda Deuda Latinoamericana fund is a high-yield bond fund which invests in US dollar- denominated corporate credit of companies throughout Latin America.
Fernando Tisné, senior partner and portfolio manager of the fund, explained: “We have been able to take advantage of credit opportunities in Latin America over the last 15 years by building a highly diversified portfolio, not only by issuer, but also by country through a deep fundamental analysis process. We believe that it is of utmost importance to be methodical in the investment process, build a highly diversified portfolio and invest with patience.”
“Through our investment in the Moneda Deuda Latinoamericana fund, we are able to gain a presence in the attractive Latin American high-yield credit market, said Mark Jenkins, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Investments, CPPIB. “Moneda is a well-established, successful fund manager run by a strong management team with a proven track record. We look forward to building our relationship with the Moneda team as we seek to expand our presence in the region in this sector.”
“We are happy to partner with such a sophisticated Canadian institutional investor. This investment is an important part of Moneda ́s Canadian business which was first initiated in 2011. Very few foreign investors have dedicated Latam high yield credit exposure, but when evaluating the asset class, there is clear value on its own and when added to a global fixed income portfolio. This education process is part of our long term business model globally,” said Tisné.
With this investment, Moneda Asset Management continues its growth among high-level, reputed foreign institutional clients, such as pension and sovereign wealth funds and family offices globally, which together with their strong base of Chilean clients, enables it to manage over US$ 4,500 billion. Founded in 1993, Moneda is a Latin America focused asset manager that invests across the corporate capital structure. Our investment philosophy is based on fundamental, long term and bottom-up analysis of companies across the region.
Moneda Deuda Latinoamericana manages USD 979 million (abr-2015).
CC-BY-SA-2.0, Flickr. Eight Factors That Will Change Global Consumers Behaviours
Today’s consumers are different than yesterday’s. This is the consequence of three major mutually interacting factors: Demographics, markets and economics. Alongside historically unprecedented demographic changes, people’s behaviours have also changed: They are getting married later, having fewer children, both parents are both working and young adults are entering the job market much later than they used to. Understanding these demographics changes is essential to understanding consumer behaviors.
The report “Demographic Focus – Changing Global Consumers” of Credit Suisse provides insights into changing global consumer behavior and expenditure patterns.
The market place has also changed mainly due to new technologies and new marketing techniques. The way people consume today is very different to how they used to consume in the past. Indeed with ongoing global technological changes people are becoming more and more reliant on technology to consume. This creates pressure for certain age groups that may not adapt as quickly as they should to cope with these new ways of consuming. Moreover marketing techniques are becoming more prominent and are creating difficulties for consumers to assess the cost-benefit characteristics of a product. This has huge implications as it means people will need to spend a lot more time trying to decipher the huge amount of information available on goods and services that can be quite complex.
Moreover freer international trade, more efficient international transportation services and new information and communications technology have created more open international markets for goods and services. Increased trade has promoted competition thereby boosting consumer welfare worldwide. Once again this has both an upside and downside impact on consumers, as they have access to more products and information but they also need to sort out the amount of information available to make optimal consumption choices.
In the first section of our report we talk about changing consumers analyzing how consumers have changed. In the second section we look at how they consume, what affects their consumption and how their consumption has changed. “The power of individual choice has never been greater, and the reasons and patterns for those choices never harder to understand and analyze.” Mark J. Penn (Chief Strategy Officer, Microsoft & former advisor to Bill Clinton).
According with Credit Suisse those are the eight factors that will change global consumers behaviours:
Demographics is about consumers and workers. Individuals consume from birth to death and there are nearly 7.3bn global consumers today. With dramatic life cycle changes, individuals’ consumption behavior and patterns have been undergoing major rapid changes – later marriage, and parenthood, multiple workers in a family and delayed job market entry.
The G6 (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US) countries’ consumers account for 50.3% of world consumption, thus have the world’s largest consumer markets. The EMG6 (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and Turkey) countries’ consumers account for 19.6% of world consumption, their consumption share is growing.
Contrary to popular perception, old people are the largest consumer group as they are the richest age group. Consumption shares for the 50+ age group accounts for 58.1%, 54.2% and 59.7% of the total consumption in Japan, US and Germany respectively.
Today’s young adults consume relatively less than their corresponding cohorts born a generation or two earlier. They start accumulating assets later due to longer years in education. High youth unemployment and high student debt levels put additional pressure on these young adults.
Working women are a group of new consumers with increasing numbers of them getting educated, working and becoming richer..
Consumer behaviors have been impacted by changing technologies. Consumers are more sophisticated and more impatient in terms of purchase experiences. An information intensive and complex market place forces them to access and process information quickly
The state of the economy and their own economic status also influences the way people consume. Job uncertainty leads to increased precautionary saving amongst workers. Economic confidence and fads/fashions also affect consumer expenditure patterns.
Those who miss out on these consumer trends and changes are unlikely to capitalize on opportunities and are unlikely to be winners.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Paul Falardeau. Sustaining the Dollar’s Rise: Three Additional Factors
The US dollar has seen a substantial rise over the last nine months. In its last analysis, Henderson looks at why thinks it will remain at elevated levels and examine what this means for investors. James McAlevey, portfolio manager of Henderson Horizon Total Return Bond Fund named three additional factors:
1. Slower global currency reserve growth
In the ‘taper tantrum’ risk asset sell-off, the ability of some EM countries to pay their now more expensive dollar-denominated debts came into question. This resulted in assets flowing into US dollars; however, a considerable proportion remained in EM with a clear differentiation between fragile economies and their stronger peers; the Brazilian real weakened by c.16%, while Asian currencies, such as the Korean won, actually appreciated by 5.3%.
While the ‘tantrum’ passed, Henderson has subsequently seen the growth of foreign currency reserves slowing and in fact shrinking in the second half of 2014, as some EM central banks in particular were forced to sell reserves to defend their currencies against outflows. As these central banks sell reserves, they are required to sell non-US dollar foreign currencies and buy dollars before they sell dollars against their own currency. This trend further supports the dollar.
Aggressive rate cuts and a subdued US dollar in the years following the financial crisis have made it a major funding currency for carry trades (borrowing at low interest rates in one currency to fund purchases of higher yielding assets elsewhere) particularly into China/Asia. Now, however, as the dollar strengthens, investors could look to reduce exposure (ie, buying dollars to repay their debt), a move which would make the dollar appreciate even more.
3. Not enough dollars
A falling current account deficit (the difference between import costs and export receipts) is normally a positive driver for a currency. This is especially true for the US dollar given it is a reserve currency, and the principal currency of global trade. As chart 3 shows, the US current account deficit has been shrinking since 2012 as a percentage of global trade and this trend is expected to continue. This means a reduction in global liquidity as fewer dollars are available for foreigners to conduct trade. If the current account deficit continues to narrow, or we see a pick-up in global trade, then the dollar should continue to rise.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, Flickr. BNY Mellon Wealth Management Names Donald Heberle as CEO
BNY Mellon has appointed Donald J. Heberle to be the new Chief Executive Officer of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, succeeding current CEO Lawrence Hughes. After 24 years with the company, Hughes has decided to retire from his role as of June 30, 2015, and will continue with BNY Mellon in an advisory role within BNY Mellon Investment Management.
Heberle will be based in New York where he will continue to direct the long-term growth and expansion strategy that the Wealth Management leadership team has been driving for the past two years.
Since he joined BNY Mellon in 1997, Heberle has served in several key leadership roles. As Executive Director of Client Advice and International Wealth Management, Heberle oversees the firm’s International Wealth Management business, its Family Wealth Advisory and Wealth and Estate Strategist groups as well as client service delivery strategy.
In previous roles Heberle served as Executive Director for the Family Office and International Wealth Management businesses; was Director of Investment Strategy for Mellon’s Private Wealth Management group; and developed and implemented the firm’s tax-managed equity investment process. Heberle received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and a master of business administration in finance and accounting from Carnegie Mellon University.
“We thank Larry Hughes for his 24 years of service to BNY Mellon. He and his talented leadership team have helped build BNY Mellon Wealth Management into one of the strongest firms in the business. We are pleased to announce that Don Heberle, one of Wealth Management’s most senior executives, will now take over as CEO,” said Curtis Arledge, Vice Chairman of BNY Mellon and CEO of Investment Management. “I look forward to continued growth under Don’s leadership and am also very pleased that Larry is willing to serve BNY Mellon in an advisory role.”
“BNY Mellon is an institution with a rich history and a bright future, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead one of its key businesses,” said Heberle. “I look forward to working with my colleagues across both Wealth Management and the rest of Investment Management on strategic initiatives to expand the business, while delivering innovative solutions to serve existing clients and attract new ones.”
“It has been a privilege working with everyone at BNY Mellon over the past two and a half decades, and under Don Heberle’s capable leadership, I am confident that Wealth Management will continue moving forward with great momentum.” Hughes said, “I’m proud of having led a team that was continually at the top of the industry in client satisfaction and retention, of our efforts to build the brand and profile, and of our ongoing expansion in current and new markets.”
Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa with the BAACF 2015 Award for Excellence at the ceremony held last Friday in Miami. Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa Received the BAACF 2015 Award of Excellence
The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (BAACF) has awarded its 2015 Excellence Award to Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa. The award was presented at a dinner attended by 150 people, which was held in Miami last Friday. Marilyn Blanco-Reyes, president of the BACCF welcomed attendees and the Consul General of Brazil in Miami, His Excellency, Ambassador Hélio Vitor Ramos Filho, who presented the award.
The Excellence Award was created for acknowledging the career and achievements of international leaders with ties to Brazil and the United States in various fields, including business, science, sports, and the arts.
Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa is a financial sector executive who has headed several leading US and international wealth management organizations, including several positions at Bankers Trust, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Bank of America. She is currently CEO for Banco Itau International, the international private banking subsidiary of Banco Itau, which is headquartered in Miami. Before accepting this position in Itau, Frances served as president and CEO of US Trust Company, and as president of US Trust and Bank of America Private Wealth Management. In 2011, Frances was named interim dean of the School of Business at the University of Miami, and later served as consultant for the same university.
Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa has received numerous awards for her work, and has been named one of the “50 Women to Watch” by the Wall Street Journal, and one of “20 Elite Women” by Hispanic Business magazine. Frances, a native of Miami, has a B.A. from the University of Miami and an MBA from The Thunderbird School of Global Management. She serves on several boards of nonprofit organizations within her community, where she plays an active role in various philanthropic fields. She has been married for 30 years and is a mother of three.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Day Donaldson. Are Asian Equities in a “Sweet Spot”?
With the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indices breaching all-time high levels pushing P/E multiples for the MSCI United States index to above the 5-year historic average, some investors are likely to re-think their portfolio in search of more attractively valued investments. Given the low growth expectations and concern over unresolved debt issues in some eurozone states, nor may Europe be considered a screaming “buy” by all investors at this juncture. Especially after the strong rally since the start of 2015. Meanwhile, the Latam, middle-east, Eastern Europe, and Africa regions — the darlings in the eyes of many investors in the not-so- distant past – are now plagued by a myriad of obstacles weighing on investors’ appetites.
While economies in Asia also confront a number of challenges, we believe relatively attractive valuations for the region coupled with internal domestic drivers put a floor under the market and position the region in a “sweet spot”. Additionally, a number of external factors provide a strong tailwind for Asian equities including: weak energy/commodity prices, an accommodative European Central Bank (ECB) ready to inject abundant liquidity into the financial system, and an expected sustained, albeit moderate US recovery propping up exports for Asia.
“It is undeniable that many Asian economies also face a growth soft patch as they undergo rebalancing to the “new normal” slower global growth trend. However, we believe much progress has been made in recent years, with key notable positive developments in 2014. What is most encouraging is the determination demonstrated by many Asian governments to drive reform across all facets of the economy, including what were once highly sensitive government-dominated areas. We see this trend as being especially evident in China, India, and Indonesia where new “reform-minded” political leaders have taken office. The leaders in Japan and Korea can also be commended for championing much-needed reform agendas”, point out Hue Lu, senior investment specialist covering Asia Pacific and Greater China equities at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
“We should be mindful of the fact that despite the growth soft patch across many Asian economies, Asia ex-Japan countries continue to top the charts for global GDP growth”, said Lu. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and consensus real GDP growth forecast for the Asia ex-Japan region averages around 5 to 6% — much stronger than the 2 to 3% growth estimate for the US, and the 1% for the Eurozone.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that Asian corporates are cash rich. Cash on the balance sheets of Asian companies is approaching US$1 trillion, leaving the door open to possible dividend increases, share buy-backs, and opportunities to increase shareholder value through accretive acquisitions – all positives for shareholders.
External Catalysts
A sustained cycle in the US economic recovery should help boost exports for many Asian economies, especially for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Additionally, quantitative easing by the ECB should inject abundant liquidity into the financial system. This, in our view, bodes well for global equities. “We believe Emerging Asian markets will be key beneficiaries of the new flood of liquidity given the region’s inherent higher-beta market structure”, believe the senior investment specialist at BNP Paribas Investment Partners .
As a net importer of commodities and energy products, Asia significantly benefits positively from the recent weakness in commodity prices. Given the structural demand-supply forces in the global commodity market coupled with the “new normal” softer global growth trend, we expect commodity prices to remain suppressed for some time. Weak commodity price has been a significant positive for Asia in a number of ways. For one thing, lower input costs for Asian corporates has recently and will continue to boost margins.
The steep decline in commodity prices has been a powerful disinflationary force globally. The low inflation environment has paved the way for many economies (e.g. Indonesia, India, China) to push through price reforms for energy and resource-based utilities. As a result of recent energy price reform implemented in India and Indonesia, both economies are now benefiting from a much-improved fiscal position, making them less vulnerable to a future normalisation of US interest rates.
Furthermore, disinflationary pressure has enabled many Asian central banks to trim benchmark rates to support growth. In fact, with inflation easing significantly across the region, many Asian economies now have an easing-bias (Japan, China, India, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia). And while the central banks in Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines have not yet moved to an easing stance, their monetary policies are not positioned to hike anytime soon. On the contrary, if disinflationary pressures persist (and BNP Paribas IP expect they will), these economies could very likely adopt a more dovish policy.
The opportunities
BNP Paribas IP outlook on Asian equities remains very constructive. In fact, there may be a high probability, in our opinion, that Asia equities will outperform many global equity markets in 2015. Within Asia, we highlight the following opportunities:
Japan remains one of our preferred markets. Given the Bank of Japan’s easing monetary policy, the weak yen should continue to benefit Japanese exporters. We see many technology-related opportunities, especially in the healthcare equipment and industrial automation and robotics area. We are also encouraged by the early signs of corporate restructuring plans. It will be a slow process to change decades of ingrained cultural behavior and norms, but the early signposts are encouraging with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the helm.
India is also a preferred market and we expect a re-rating over the medium-term. The two recent rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India are a huge positive to help boost growth. The long-term consumption growth story remains very much intact, and we believe increased household wealth will drive consumption for many low-penetrated areas across the economy. Meanwhile, the Modi government continues to accelerate structural reforms and improve the policy environment.
China offers the benefit of being one of the cheapest markets in Asia-Pacific. The urbanisation and increasing wealth trend in this country provide good support for consumption over the medium term. With the People’s Bank of China clearly signaling an easing posture, equities should be supported despite the weak growth trend. Excessive government debt and a weak property market, however, continue to be areas of concern.
Australia continues to face headwinds from weak commodity prices, but the economy is healthier than some may expect. We favor the consumption-related areas such as transportation (airport/toll road), healthcare, telecommunications and utilities. Risk remains high in energy and materials except for large diversified miners who continue to generate strong cash flows despite weak commodity prices. We also like a number of the banks as they offer very attractive yields, and operate in an oligopoly structure, which allows them to command strong pricing power.
“Valuations remain attractive for the region. Despite the recent multi-year strong market performance for many of the Asian countries, with a number of markets breaching all-time high levels, valuations remain reasonable with both the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index and the MSCI Asia Pacific index still trading near its 5-year historic average P/E multiple (based on 12-months forward consensus estimates). Not to mention, Asian corporates offer one of the more attractive yields. Investors seem to be agreeing that Asia may be in a “sweet spot” if recent market performance is any indication”, conclude Hue Lu, senior investment specialist
