. Jaco Rouw, Senior Portfolio Manager at ING Investment Management Joins Miami Summit
Jaco Rouw, senior portfolio manager at ING Investment Management, is set to present on the topic of ‘Global Bond Opportunities: Flexible Approach to Fixed Income”, when he takes part in the Fund Selector Summit Miami 2015, being held 7-8 May at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.
The event – a joint venture between Open Door Media, the owner of InvestmentEurope and Miami based Funds Society – is targeting locally based fund selectors with the opportunity to hear input from a range of managers.
In times of uncertainty, it’s best to be positioned for various outcomes. For financial instruments, that means diversification. In past decades, the decline in yield levels has been generally beneficial. The latest push has been asset price inflation, driven by the Fed, the ECB and the BoJ. With central banks keeping rates continuously low, investors have responded by shifting their holdings to higher yielding asset classes such as Credits or EMD. But this poses enormous challenges, especially in managing the risk posed by interest rates, currencies duration, security selection and tactical asset allocation. The answer to these challenges has been the use of flexible global fixed income strategies, which employ tools and techniques to benefit from a wider spectrum of investment opportunities.
Jaco Rouw is based in The Netherlands and has been a senior portfolio manager with ING Investment Management since 2013. Jaco has worked at ING IM since 1998 and is currently responsible for global core fixed income investment policy and model portfolio construction. He is also responsible for managing client mandates and flagship fixed income mutual funds. Jaco has had a varied career at ING IM and since 2008 he has also been responsible for currency overlay and the management of dedicated currency portfolios, and from 2001-2008 he was a portfolio manager within the Global Fixed Income team at ING IM.
You will find all information about the Funds Society Fund Selector Summit Miami 2015 through this link.
Photo: Fred Hsu . Agnelli Family Seeks Buyers for Cushman & Wakefield
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Italian family Agnelli has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for the third largest real estate company in the world, Cushman & Wakefield Inc, under their control, quoting people familiar with the matter.
The sale could fetch as much as $2 billion, for the company that recorded $163 million in earnings in the 12 months that ended in September, according to the newspaper, and acquired New York-based Massey Knakal Realty Services for $100 million late last year.
The Agnelli family, which currently owns 81 percent of the company, paid $565.4 million for a 67.5 percent stake in Cushman & Wakefield 8 years ago, according to the WSJ. “There is currently no transaction to disclose, nor guarantee that such a review may result in any transaction involving Cushman & Wakefield,” a Cushman & Wakefield spokesman said.
. Pension Insurance Corporation Appoints Henderson Global Investors as Part of Preparations for Solvency II
Pension Insurance Corporation, a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has appointed Henderson Global Investors as its sole external Sterling corporate bond manager, as part of preparations for the implementation of a “buy-to-hold” asset strategy under Solvency II. Henderson will now manage a £3.2 billion portfolio, more than doubling its previous mandate.
PIC manages a further £2 billion of Sterling corporate bonds in-house including direct investments in infrastructure. PIC has a total portfolio of almost £14 billion.
Tracy Blackwell, deputy CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “Consolidating our Sterling bond portfolio managers is an important step in our preparations for the “buy-to-hold” discipline required by Solvency II. The appointment of Henderson demonstrates that our transition is on track. We are of course delighted to be continuing our partnership with Henderson. Excellent credit skills, a strong working relationship and high levels of client service were key to this appointment.”
Anil Shenoy, director of institutional business at Henderson, says: “We are very proud to be appointed by PIC as this is an eminent endorsement of Henderson’s fixed income franchise and institutional client service. We look forward to deepening our relationship with one of the insurance industry’s leading and most innovative companies.”
Stephen Thariyan, global head of credit at Henderson, adds: “Being chosen as PIC’s manager of choice for Sterling corporate bonds reflects our robust portfolio management process and the strength and depth of our offering. PIC has been a leader in its sector for a number of years and this decision is a big boost for our team, which we have been building out globally.”
According to new research released from Pershing Advisor Solutions entitled Super-Ensembles: The Firms Who Are Shaping the Future of the Industry, a group of 250 super-ensemble firms are poised to shape the future of the advisory industry and are setting the standard for growth, client service and practice management best practices as evidenced by their impressive revenue and growth.
Super-ensembles are advisory firms with more than $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) and are characterized by a defined brand, sophisticated value proposition and strong management. Such firms are also achieving local market dominance through investment in technology, aggressive growth strategies and a long-term vision for their businesses.
“Every business owner can learn from the strategy that super-ensembles are successfully bringing to the marketplace, and we are seeing their business practices quickly becoming the standard to follow for the rest of the industry,” said Gabriel Garcia, head of relationship management for Pershing Advisor Solutions. “Success isn’t merely defined by the size of a firm. We believe that firms of all sizes can learn from the different growth strategies and best practices being implemented by super-ensembles to more effectively manage and grow their own businesses.”
The success of the super-ensemble model, and its ability to outperform the industry in terms of revenue and growth, is evident in the numbers. In 2014 the typical super-ensemble had $1,450,000 in owner income on average compared to $430,000 for ensembles (firms with AUM under $500 million) and $305,000 for solo firms (one-advisor practices). Super-ensembles were also the fastest growing firms with 18.6 percent revenue growth, compared to ensembles whose revenue grew at 17.1 percent and solo firms at 15.4 percent.
According to the study, super-ensembles scale primarily through strategic and organic means. However, they are also interested in growing through acquisitions and mergers. In fact, over one-third of super-ensembles (37 percent) are actively searching for acquisitions and 6.3 percent are interested in a merger with a similarly-sized firm. Other means of creating a super-ensemble are strategic partnerships and aggressive marketing.
In contrast to their smaller peers, young super-ensembles are deliberate in their growth and more likely to pursue business development, which allows them to drive acquisition of new clients faster than other firms. Eighty percent have a defined target for non-owner lead advisors and 17 percent have business development partners.
For firms looking to become super-ensembles, the study outlines a number of steps they can take to achieve this goal:
Act like a super-ensemble, regardless of size: Dedicating time and resources to management, even if full-time management is not affordable, will keep any firm disciplined. Carefully articulating a strategy and being diligent in execution will help the firm progress and grow in a systematic manner.
Attract talent: The addition of professionals and managers who have experience working in larger organizations can assist smaller firms in finding a way to grow faster and impart knowledge from their larger peers.
Merge: There is no faster way to achieve size and reach the level of resources of a billion-dollar firm than a merger. Mergers are difficult, laborious and risky initiatives, but they have created many of today’s largest firms.
Acquire: Acquisitions are not the exclusive domain of the largest firms and, in fact, many of the mid-size firms can find good opportunities to acquire solo practices and add clients and markets to their business.
Focus on culture: Culture is slow to evolve and change, and creating the “right” culture—even when the firm is smaller—will allow a firm to succeed at later stages in its evolution. A dedicated focus on developing the right culture can secure the success of the firm as it grows and can help shape the direction of any mergers and acquisitions.
Prioritize growth: Growing faster starts with making growth a priority of the firm. The single most important marketing resource of a firm is the time of its most experienced professionals. Firms where partners prioritize growth tend to spend their time focused on this area, which is more likely to result in a faster expansion.
To obtain a copy of Pershing’s whitepaper Super-Ensembles: The Firms Who Are Shaping the Future of the Industry, please visit this link.
Photo: Ramón Llorensi. BNP Paribas Securities Services Appoints Head of Brazil
BNP Paribas Securities Services has announced the appointment of Andrea Cattaneo as head of Brazil.
Cattaneo joined BNP Paribas Securities Services in 2004, becoming global head of solutions for asset managers in 2011.
“We have expanded our custody offering in Brazil and across Latin America in recent years with great success,” commented Alvaro Camuñas, head of Spain and Latin America, BNP Paribas Securities Services.
“We are seeing strong demand both to help foreign investors develop their business in Brazil and to help local investors reach out to international markets by using our worldwide networks and expertise.”
“Andrea has played an important role in the development of our global offering for asset managers and I am delighted to see him take the lead of our Brazil office. His new appointment positions us well for future growth in the country.”
“This is a fascinating time for Brazilian finance,” commented Cattaneo. “The need to diversify investments to boost returns means Brazilian investors are reaching out to global markets, which are eager to connect with them.
“This is the moment for us to bring our global reach and local expertise to bear and help connect Brazilian investors to markets worldwide. It is an exciting time for us and I am delighted to have been appointed to this role.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrHovasse draws on 14 years of experience as an analyst and fund manager. Xavier Hovasse and David Park Appointed Fund Managers of Carmignac Emergents
Carmignac’s emerging equity fund managers Simon Pickard and Edward Cole will be leaving the company for different personal reasons. Edouard Carmignac, Chairman and CIO of Carmignac, stated “Simon Pickard has been with us for over 12 years, during which time he has been a great asset to the company; first as part of the European investment fund management team and then as head of the emerging equities team.”
Carmignac is delighted to announce the promotion of Xavier Hovasse and David Park, who currently manage Carmignac Emerging Discovery (CED), as fund managers of Carmignac Emergents (CE). Xavier Hovasse will also manage the emerging equities component of Carmignac Emerging Patrimoine (CEMP), while CEMP’s bond component (i.e. 50% of the fund’s assets) continues to be managed by Charles Zerah.
Xavier Hovasse draws on 14 years of experience as an analyst and fund manager, initially at BNP Paribas and then Carmignac. He has successfully applied his knowledge of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East to the benefit of the emerging equity funds. David Park, who joined Carmignac eight years ago as an expert on Asia, became co-manager of CED two and a half years ago. Haiyan Li-Labbé has been an analyst specialising on China for 14 years including three years at Carmignac, a role through which she continues to enrich the company with her experience as an analyst and fund manager with Société Générale and then ADI-OFI.
These three members of the investment team have actively contributed to the fund management process and the success of our range of emerging equity funds over the past few years.
Commenting on this new structure, Edouard Carmignac said that “the emerging market funds will benefit from the continuity of the existing management process, as well as the efforts of a team that has been in place for several years and the presence of Charles Zerah, who will continue to steer CEMP’s bond component.”
Simon Pickard stated that he would be available to ensure the transition towards the new management structure, adding: “It was a difficult decision, but I have a personal project that I would like to explore, the details of which I will share at the right point in time. I wish all the best to the Carmignac teams.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrPhoto: Daniel Foster. Halcyon and Guggenheim Partners launch UCITs fund
Halcyon Liquid Strategies UCITS Management and Guggenheim Partners have launched the GFS Halcyon Liquid Opportunities Fund, an opportunistic catalyst-driven UCITS fund domiciled in Ireland.
Launched on the Guggenheim Fund Solutions platform, the Fund will utilise Halcyon’s investment expertise to identify public equities where there may be structural market inefficiencies or opportunities for asymmetric returns, and will employ strategies including long/short, relative value, liquid credit, and other strategies.
The Fund will offer weekly liquidity and will launch with more than USD40 million in capital. It will leverage the existing idea generation and investment expertise across Halcyon, an alternative investment firm founded in 1981 and managing approximately USD11 billion.
“We are pleased to partner with Guggenheim, offering Halcyon’s investment expertise to non-US investors in a liquid UCITS format,” says Kevah Konner, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund and Vice Chairman of Halcyon Asset Management LLC. Todd Solomon, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund, added, “We launched the Fund in response to demand for UCITS strategies that attempt to capture equity upside but limit the downside, and it is part of our growing liquid alternatives business, which was started in 2014 and now manages more than USD200 million.”
Guggenheim Fund Solutions (GFS) is focused on structuring and distributing alternative products that meet increasing demand for greater transparency and risk management, including in the thriving liquid alternatives market. GFS began operations with a focus on hedge-fund managed-account solutions and has expanded its capabilities to help managers access the surging demand for alternative UCITS funds. The GFS platform provides a full-service technology and risk management infrastructure to operate alternative UCITS funds and is able to leverage Guggenheim Partners’ global footprint.
“We launched our UCITS platform in 2014 with the objective of partnering with top-tier managers to bring exceptional investment management capabilities into the rapidly growing liquid alternatives space,” says Diego Winegardner, Senior Managing Director and Head of Guggenheim Fund Solutions. “We are very excited to be working with Halcyon, a premier alternative asset manager with a long successful history in the catalyst-driven space. The launch of our second alternative UCITS fund allows us to further expand our strategy mix and meet the diverse needs of our clients.”
The Fund will seek to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term while attempting to limit drawdown risk through active hedging. Share classes are available in USD, EUR, CHF and SEK.
Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, has communicated to the Spanish Stock Market Regulator, CNMV, that its subsidiary Hispania Real SOCIMI, S.A.U, has signed an agreement with Grupo Barceló for the creation of the first hotel REIT focused on the holiday resort segment; industry in which Spain is one of the leaders worldwide.
Part of this agreement includes the acquisition by Hispania in an initial phase of 11 hotels (3,946 keys) and 1 shopping centre. Later on, Hispania will have the option to acquire 5 additional hotels (2,151 keys) along with a second shopping centre. The agreement is subject to the successful completion of the due diligence process.
Once the transaction is completed and the option on the 5 additional hotels executed, Hispania will have invested 339 million euro, obtaining an 80.5% stake in the new REIT. Grupo Barceló will maintain 19.5% with the option to reach up to 49% through future capital increases.
Barceló will remain as the operator of the acquired hotels through lease contracts with an initial term of 15 years.
The valuation of the 16 hotels and 2 shopping centres amounts to 421 million euro. It is expected that the REIT, following the execution of the option, will have an initial equity of 187 million euro and a syndicated loan amounting to 234 million euro. Hispania’s capital contribution will amount to a maximum amount of 151 million euro (total attributable investment of 339 million euro).
The initial asset portfolio will have pro forma rental income of approximately 45 million euro (40 million euro pro forma 2014).
The Barceló assets included in this agreement comprise most of its resort portfolio in Spain, located in the Canary Islands, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands; touristic destinations which have had a strong performance during the last few years and are expected to continue consolidating their position in the future. Out of the 16 hotels, more than 90% of the rooms available are 4* category and are leaders in their respective influence areas.
Hispania and Barceló have agreed to invest together an additional 35 million euro in the short term in order to complete the repositioning and updating of some of the properties.
“Spain is the third most important touristic destination in the world, preceded only by France and the United States”, commented Concha Osácar, Board Member of Hispania. “Spain has almost twice the number of resort keys than the United States, as well as a well-diversified tourist base, with British, German and French visitors representing more than 50% of the total. This illustrates the opportunities which the industry offers in Spain”.
The agreement signed between Hispania and Barceló allows to start an ambitious plan focused on increasing the portfolio of the new REIT, through hotel acquisitions or incorporations of existing hotels. The purpose is at least, to duplicate the size of the initial portfolio, creating a Spanish resort portfolio managed by different leading hotel operators.
According to Concha Osácar, “our objective and that of our partner Barceló, is that the new entity becomes the first listed REIT focused solely on hotel resorts, with a diversified portfolio in terms of hotel operators, and a steady income base, through lease contracts with a strong fixed income component and enough exposure to the future increase of the Spanish tourism market. The objective of the new REIT for Hispania and Barceló, is to become an instrument with which to attract institutional capital for the Spanish hotel industry, creating new sources of capital for the hotel industry”.
From Barceló’s perspective, “as a result of this transaction, we are creating a solid alliance with one of the most active investors in the industry”. According to Barceló’s CEO, Raúl González, “after this transaction we will be in leading position to benefit from the concentration process that should take place in the Spanish hotel industry”.
Hispania has invested a total of 112 million euros, including capex for 2015, in 6 hotels (5 acquired in 2014 and 1 in 2015) managed by different hotel operators (Meliá, NH and Vincci), which could be included into the new REIT; this decision will be made by the partners during the second half of 2015.
Hispania will have invested 100% of the net proceeds raised
With this agreement, Hispania will have committed a total investment of c. 800 million euros in a total of 44 assets since its IPO on March, 14th 2014.
Photo: Javier Rodríguez-Alarcón, managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. GSAM Quants in Focus as Javier Rodríguez-Alarcón Joins Miami Summit
Javier Rodríguez-Alarcón, managing director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management will be taking part as a speaker at the upcoming Fund Selector Summit Miami 2015, taking place 7-8 May at the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne.
Rodríguez-Alarcón is head of the EMEA Client Portfolio Management team at the Quantitative Investment Strategies group at GSAM.
He focuses on product development, communications and strategy for the QIS platform in the institutional, private wealth, and third-party channels for the EMEA region. Previously, he was a senior strategist and head of UK and Europe Strategic Accounts, Client Solutions at Barclays Global Investors, where he worked on the development of BGI’s Multi Strategy Hedge Funds and Global Multi-Asset products in Europe, Latin America and Asia Ex-Japan.
The Funds Society Fund Selector Summit Miami 2015 will bring key fund selectors, primarily from the Miami area but also from other locations where decisions are made regarding the US Offshore market, together with top-performing Asset Managers to explore the latest portfolio management strategies and investment ideas. The Summit is designed specifically for key fund selectors who want to benefit from the knowledge of leading fund managers. You may access further information through this link.
Photo: Michael Duxbury. Man Group Announces the Acquisition of the Investment Management Business of NewSmith
Man Group has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the investment management business of NewSmith LLP, an equity investment manager with $1.2 billion of funds under management. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
NewSmith has offices in London and Tokyo and has four portfolio management teams with 15 investment professionals, investing in UK, European, Global and Japanese equities. The Firm is approximately 60% owned by its founders and senior staff members and approximately 40% owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited, Japan’s largest institutional asset manager. Man Group has a long term collaborative relationship with SuMi TRUST which has indicated its strong support for the transaction and they will maintain their investment in the NewSmith funds.
The acquisition is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory and other approvals. Upon completion, the four NewSmith strategies will be integrated into Man GLG, complementing Man GLG’s existing products in their respective areas. NewSmith Chairman Paul Roy and NewSmith CEO Ron Carlson will work with Man GLG over the next twelve months to ensure a seamless management transition and integration.
The transaction follows a number of strategic acquisitions announced by Man Group in 2014 like the one of Silvermine Capital Management or Numeric Holdings LLC.
Luke Ellis, President of Man Group, said, “We believe that NewSmith is a highly complementary business for Man GLG. The acquisition brings a new dimension to the firm, including a Japanese hedge fund and an excellent team in Tokyo, as well as adding further scale to our London business. It is testament to the Man GLG team that we have received such a strong endorsement from SuMi TRUST, a key strategic partner of Man Group, and we are delighted that our relationship will be further enhanced following this acquisition.”
