Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has named Théodore Economou Chief Investment Officer of LOIM’s multi-asset business.
The unit, which managed $5.2bn (€4.5bn) at the end of December, also includes a fiduciary management division.
Economou most recently served as CEO and Chief Investment Officer of the CERN Pension fund, where over five years he initiated a risk-based approach that came to be known as the CERN Model. The multi-asset, factor-driven model aims to preserve capital while maximizing returns relative to risk.
Economou will be based in Geneva and build on a similar approach that LOIM began applying to its own employee pension fund in 2009 and developed for institutional clients. The risk-based approach is designed to meet the needs of Sovereign Wealth Funds and pension funds. He will report to Jan Straatman, Chief Investment Officer of LOIM.
In multi-asset investing, portfolios are built with a global mix of asset classes and styles, including investments in public and private markets. Factor-driven—also called smart beta-—portfolios allocate assets to investments with identifiable characteristics or “factors” that account for their performance.
Before joining CERN, Mr Economou was assistant treasurer of ITT Corporation in New York where he managed pension assets and liabilities worldwide as well as the firm’s capital markets activities. Prior to that, he was a consultant with Accenture’s Financial Services Group in Geneva and Zurich. He holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and an MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Luis Moreno, Senior Executive Vice-President, will be responsible for Private Banking . Santander Integrates the Private Banking, Asset Management and Insurance Division in its Retail and Commercial Banking Division
Banco Santander’s board of directors has approved changes that simplify its corporate structure, reducing the number of divisions from 15 to 11, while further enhancing risk management. These changes will contribute to improve the bank’s ability to respond to customers’ needs and to accomplish the ambitious financial and business targets it has set.
The Private Banking, Asset Management and Insurance Division will be integrated in the Retail and Commercial Banking Division headed by Javier San Félix, Senior Executive Vice-President. Luis Moreno, Senior Executive Vice-President, will be responsible for Private Banking reporting to the head of the division.
Once the restructure of the property assets in Spain is completed, the Recoveries division under Remigio Iglesias, Senior Executive Vice-President, will be integrated as a corporate area under the Risk division directed by José María Nus, Senior Executive Vice-President in charge of risk, who reports directly to Matías Rodriguez Inciarte, Group Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Board’s Risks Committee.
Banco Santander’s CEO, José Antonio Álvarez, said: “The changes approved today complement the restructuring that started in September with the new Executive Chairman. They will enable us to capture further growth opportunities which require the more agile, flexible and decentralized organization we are now implementing. We want Santander to be the best place to work, the best bank for our customers, with growing and sustainable profitability for shareholders, while contributing to the progress of the societies where we work.”
The other appointments, which are subject to the pertinent regulatory authorizations, are:
Rodrigo Echenique, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, will also be Executive Director, to whom following regulators’ recommendations regarding corporate governance, the Compliance function will report, alongside other duties delegated to him by the Group’s Executive Chairman.
José María Fuster, Senior Executive Vice-President and until now head of the Technology and Operations division, will become the corporate Director of Innovation reporting directly to the Group’s Executive Chairman. Mr. Fuster will lead new strategies to position the Bank as an international reference in innovation and technology applied to banking.
Andreu Plaza has been appointed Senior Executive Vice-President and head of Technology and Operations. Mr. Plaza, with extensive experience in banking technology, has contributed decisively to the technological transformation of Santander U.K. s Corporate and Commercial Banking. The new structure separates the functions for defining digital strategies (innovation) from implementation, execution and development (technology and operations).
Rami Aboukhair, until now Executive Vice-President, has been appointed Senior Executive Vice-President. Mr. Aboukhair, who has extensive knowledge of retail banking, will join Santander Spain as head of Retail, Commercial and Corporate Banking. He will report to Enrique García Candelas, the country head of Spain who also oversees Global Banking and Markets, risk, management and organization, costs and the rest of the support areas in Spain.
An Area of Supervisory and Regulatory Relations is created within the Finance Division. It will be in charge of global management and coordination with the bank’s supervisors and regulators, as well as the Group’s units and entities. In particular, the new area will manage, as a supervised institution, the relationship with the European Central Bank, the Group’s consolidated supervisor. José Manuel Campa, until now head of Investor Relations, will take up this responsibility, reporting to Jose García Cantera, Senior Executive Vice-President and head of the Financial Division.
With a goal to strengthen Santander’s positioning in universities, Santander Universities, which is a corporate area headed by José Antonio Villasante, Senior Executive Vice-President, will continue to report, as a corporate area, to the Group’s executive chairman and will also report functionally to the Retail and Commercial Banking Division for the commercial relationships with Universities and higher- education institutions.
Víctor Matarranz, Senior Executive Vice-President and Head of the Executive Chairman’s Office, will also take responsibility for Strategy. The new area will be called Chairman’s Office and Strategy.
José Luis de Mora, Executive Vice-President, has been appointed Senior Executive Vice-President and will continue to head the Financial Planning and Corporate Development area, reporting directly to the CEO and functionally to the Chairman’s Office and Strategy area.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has published its latest Investment Funds Industry Fact Sheet, which provides net sales of UCITS and non-UCITS for November 2014. 27 associations representing more than 99.6 percent of total UCITS and non-UCITS assets at end November 2014 provided them with net sales and/or net assets data.
The main developments in November 2014 in the reporting countries can be summarized as follows:Net sales of UCITS reduced to EUR 27 billion in November from EUR 44 billion in October. This fall in net sales came despite increased net sales of long term funds during the month.
Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) posted increased net inflows of EUR 31 billion, up from EUR 23 billion in October. Equity fund net sales returned to positive territory in November posting inflows of EUR 2 billion, against net outflows of EUR 6 billion in October. Bernard Delbecque, Director of Economics and Research commented: “The decline in stock market uncertainty brought back net sales of equity funds to positive territory in November.”
Bond fund net sales reduced to EUR 11 billion, down from EUR 16 billion in October. Balanced funds enjoyed a pick-up in net sales to EUR 13 billion in November, up from EUR 9 billion in October.
Money market fund net sales returned to negative territory in November posting outflows of EUR 4 billion in October, compared to net inflows of EUR 22 billion in October.
Total non-UCITS net sales remained relatively steady in November at EUR 16 billion. Net sales of special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) remained at EUR 12 billion for the second consecutive month.
Total net assets of UCITS stood at EUR 8.02 trillion at end November 2014, representing a 1.5 percent increase during the month.
Total net assets of non-UCITS increased 1.4 percent to stand at EUR 3.17 trillion at month end. Overall, total net assets of the European investment fund industry stood at EUR 11.2 trillion at end November 2014.
Photo: Ahron de Leeuw. The Emerging Consumer: It’s all About the Rise of the Emerging Middle Class
The nineteenth century industrial revolution created a substantial Western European and American middle class. Today the same is happening in emerging markets. Over the next two decades, the global middle class is expected to expand by another three billion, from 1.8 billion to 4.9 billion, coming almost exclusively from the emerging world. In Asia alone, 575 million people can already count themselves among the middle class — more than the European Union’s total population, explain Jack Neele and Richard Speetjens, managers of the Robeco Global Consumer Trends Equities strategy.
This crossover from West to East in terms of size and spending of the middle class has large implications for expected consumption growth:
Adapt to shifting local demands
The aging population in China will need new financial services to help them save for retirement. In addition, the pressure from urbanization will lead to growing demand for green technologies. The transformation is most dramatic in China, but there will be shifts across many developing economies. What these households want may be very different from the consumer demands seen in previous periods of rapid economic development. Businesses will need to tailor the products they offer to shifting local demands.
More money to spend
Over the past decades, developed economies have dominated sales of durable consumer goods. Penetration is still relatively low in many rapid-growth economies. Once household incomes approach USD 10,000, however, demand for durable consumer goods picks up. As more households in these economies move into higher income bands, they will have more money to spend on discretionary items. Demand for services such as communications, culture and recreation will grow at almost twice the rate of food spending.
Strong local positions or strong Western brands
However, this higher growth in consumer spending in emerging markets has not been an easy win for consumer companies. Many local companies prioritized sales growth, but intense competition, value-focused consumers and rising costs are making it difficult to boost the bottom line. Amid rising volatility, companies must be more careful and strategic in how they approach these markets. This is the reason why within our emerging consumer trend we focus on companies with very strong local market positions or strong Western brands.
Foto: PrimelmageMedia, Flickr, Creative Commons. Seis tendencias en real estate a vigilar en 2015
The world in which we live and work is changing rapidly and it’s sometimes difficult to spot the trends that will shape the coming years. “We have been tracking these trends and considering the potential implications for the real estate industry”, says KPMG.
“These trends are not only to be watched and accepted, there are real developments that will call for action if you are to stand out. If you anticipate those trends, real opportunities can emerge for your business”. Here’s what they’ll be watching in 2015:
Globalization
Driven by the need to diversify beyond domestic markets, global capital flows will continue to build. This will bring even greater understanding of RE markets as a whole. KMPG prediction is that the result will be an expanded RE universe with investors on the lookout for strong risk-adjusted returns.
Shift to “real assets”
Uncertainty, heightened volatility and slower growth has led to investors allocating a larger piece of the pie to “real assets”. This term comprises a variety of tangible investments that give investors options and are widely thought to provide a stable source of income in weak markets and access to capital appreciation in strengthening markets.
Increasing risk appetite
The so-called “flight-to-core” has led to significant competition for prime assets in sought-after locations. As they are currently increasing allocations to real estate, investors are being forced – through competition – and encouraged – by improving economic sentiment – to diversify. “We expect to see new geographical locations, asset classes and asset segments gain in popularity”.
Asset class broadens
Property types which would have been considered ‘specialised’ just a short time ago are now becoming mainstream. As investors increasingly seek long-term income flows, demand for assets with operating elements – such as hotels, student accommodation and so on – are receiving increasing interest, which in turn is leading to yield compression. All signs point to this continuing.
Securitization
The depth and breadth of listed REITs/companies is increasing, with more conservative balance sheets post-2009. The shift from Defined Benefit (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) is also supporting this trend, along with the emergence of DC-compatible private equity vehicles. Will this continue into 2015? We certainly believe so.
Debt
Ongoing bank deleveraging is making space for new entrants to debt markets. “Watch this space as we believe this is the sign of things to come”.
Nuveen Investments has announced it has extended its offerings to non-U.S. investors with the availability of a new UCITS fund focused on large cap core equities. The new fund is offered via Nuveen Global Investors Fund plc through a UCITS structure.
The new fund is managed by Nuveen Asset Management (NAM) LLC, a Nuveen investment affiliate recognized as a global investment manager with a broad investment platform. As a $130 billion multi-asset-class investment manager, NAM’s collaborative approach to portfolio construction is driven by integrated research and risk management processes.
The objective of the fund is to provide long-term capital appreciation through investments in large cap core equity securities. Led by respected portfolio manager and market strategist, Bob Doll, the portfolio management team will select securities using an investment process that combines quantitative, objective analysis with fundamental, research-based measures. Securities generally are added to the portfolio based both on the ranking given to a particular security by the multi-factor quantitative models used by the management team as well as the fundamental analysis of the securities.
Photo: Moni Sternbach, European Long Short team at Man Group.. Man GLG Appoints Moni Sternbach to European Long Short Team
Man Group has announced the appointment of Moni Sternbach to its European Long Short team.
Sternbach, who joins from hedge fund business Cheyne Capital, will manage a new strategy which GLGplans to launch in Q1 2015.
Sternbach, a mid-cap specialist, joins Man GLG after almost three years as lead manager of the Cheyne European Mid Cap Long/Short strategies.
Prior to Cheyne, Sternbach was head of European smaller companies at Gartmore Investment Management, where he worked from 2002 to 2011. He has also worked at Bank of America and Deloitte & Touche and graduated from Cambridge University with an MA in Economics. He is a CFA charterholder and a qualified accountant (ACA).
Sternbach will report to Man GLG’s co-CEOs Teun Johnston and Mark Jones.
Teun Johnston said: “Moni is an experienced European fund manager with an excellent track record and he will further enhance our capabilities in the European Long Short space. His mid-cap expertise will form the basis of a new strategy which we will announce in due course and it is with great pleasure we welcome him to Man GLG.”
Moni Sternbach said: “Man GLG has a clear advantage in delivering investment returns and creating value for clients. Its leading edge infrastructure, corporate access and distribution are differentiators in an increasingly complex environment and I am hugely excited to be joining its exceptionally strong team of analysts, portfolio managers, strategists and traders.”
Photo: Daniel Schwen . Afore Banamex Grants its Fourth Investment Mandate, in Asian Equities, to Four International Management Companies
Afore Banamex announced that it has awarded its fourth international investment mandate, worth between US$500 and US$600 mn, in separate accounts to four international fund managers: Wellington Management, BlackRock Pioneer Investments, and Nomura Asset Management.
Also noteworthy is the fact that this mandate is also the fourth in the history of the Mexican Retirement Pension System, as Afore Banamex is the only pension fund manager that has generated mandates under the precept approved by the Consar in 2013.
The aim of this operation is to diversify the investment strategy through this legal precept by which Afore Banamex hires the services of the mandataries so that its clients can access investments in Asian markets, particularly in Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, China, India, and Hong Kong, with the most specialized and experienced teams in financial asset management worldwide.
Gustavo Lozano, CEO of Pioneer Investments, told Funds Society that this latest mandate, which is not the first which Pioneer Investments receives, shows that “we have been able to import and offer our knowledge and skills to the asset management industry in Mexico, offering diversification strategies and providing expertise in risk and asset management which will help to solidify the pension industry in Mexico. This will benefit the country’s pensioners and savers,” he pointed out.
It should be remembered that last October Consar authorized the funding of Afore Banamex’ investment mandate in European equities to Pioneer Investments, a US$400 mn separate account which was awarded in October 2013. The total amount of that mandate, which was also granted to BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Franklin Templeton and Schroders, was US$1bn.
The combined amount of the four mandates approved to date by the Mexican Pension Funds’ System regulator exceeds US$1.8bn , including the last US$600 mn dollars of this latest Afore Banamex mandate.
As was pointed out by company sources, “Afore Banamex is still the only Afore in Mexico to implement and fund these type of investment strategies, demonstrating its commitment to innovation and efficiency, once again enabling it to offer its clients the best returns through an internal process strictly adhered to the financial system’s official standards and best practices in risk control issues.”
In “Getting Closer to Home,”Henry H. McVey, Member & Head of Global Macro and Asset Allocation at KKR, outlines key global trends that he believes will impact asset allocations for the year.
“While the general backdrop for risk assets remains favorable, we are no longer advising folks to “Stay the Course” as we did in our January 2014 Outlook piece,” McVey writes. “Rather, given where we are in the cycle and the magnitude of gains in recent years, we have begun the inevitable process of “Getting Closer to Home” in terms of our asset allocation targets. In particular, we do advise folks to raise some cash and to tilt the invested part of the portfolio to become more opportunistic in 2015.”
In the piece, McVey also outlines key themes that make compelling “arbitrages” in the global macro landscape that CIOs and portfolio managers should pursue this year. These include:
China’s slowing is not an aberration. As such, its role in the global economy is materially shifting, which means that McVey expects to see sizeable restructuring and recapitalization opportunities in sectors that previously over-earned and/or overstretched their footprints.
Many corporations still have inefficient capital structures, including too much cash and too little debt, in his view. As such, investors can still benefit from corporate and/or shareholder actions to lower companies’ cost of capital and/or improve growth, including buybacks, dividends, capital expenditures and acquisitions.
Despite a slew of liquidity in the system, many companies across both emerging and developed economies still can’t get proper access to credit. Hence, McVey still sees a compelling illiquidity premium that is worth pursuing, particularly in today’s low rate environment.
McVey suggests harnessing volatility in the liquid commodity markets. He continues to favor private real asset investments with upfront yield, growth and long-term inflation hedging relative to traditional liquid commodity notes and swaps.
Government deleveraging in the developed markets is disinflationary, which drives McVey’s thinking about the direction of long-term interest rates as well as the relative value of risk assets against the risk-free rates.
La Française REM purchased the PANORAMA SEINE and DOCKSIDE buildings, located 255 and 224 quai de la Bataille de Stalingrad respectively in Issy-les-Moulineaux (92130), ZAC des Chartreux, overlooking the river Seine, near Paris. Designed by architects Patrice Novarina and Atelier de Midi, and built by Sefri-Cime, the office complex was completed in 2008.
The acquisition includes two buildings: a seven-storey building (at 255) with 7,905 m² of office floor space; a two-storey building (at 224) with 2,082 m² of office space, including restauration facilities. The complex has 116 underground parking spaces. The global headquarters of the Sodexo group have been based there since 2008, under a twelve-year lease.
La Française REM was assisted by law firm Fairway Avocats and 14 Pyramides Notaires. The financing was provided by pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, assisted by Lefèvre Pelletier & associés and Attorney Moisy-Namand. The seller was assisted by DTZ, as part of an exclusive mandate, and law firms K&L Gates and Le Breton & Associés.
