. Bank J. Safra Sarasin anuncia la renuncia de Eric Sarasin por investigaciones en curso
Over recent days, the media has widely reported the ramifications of legal investigations initiated in Germany against a number of people, including Mr. Eric Sarasin. Investigations on behalf of German prosecutors have been carried out in Switzerland, said Bank J. Safra Sarasin in an statement.
“Eric Sarasin categorically denies the accusations made against him and wants to be free and available to organise his own defence. He also wants to ensure that the personal implications for him do not tarnish the image and reputation of the Bank he has served”.
“Eric Sarasin has therefore resigned from his position as Deputy CEO and member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. The Bank has accepted his resignation with regret and thanks Mr. Eric Sarasin for all his efforts and achievements over many years of collaboration”, says the entity.
Fifty-one jurisdictions, many represented at Ministerial level, translated their commitments into action during a massive signing of a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement that will activate automatic exchange of information, based on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Early adopters who signed the agreement have pledged to work towards launching their first information exchanges by September 2017. Others are expected to follow in 2018.
The new Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters was recently presented by the OECD to the G20 Finance Ministers during a meeting in Cairns last September. It provides for exchange of all financial information on an annual basis, automatically. Most jurisdictions have committed to implementing this Standard on a reciprocal basis with all interested jurisdiction.
The Global Forum will establish a peer review process to ensure effective implementation of automatic exchange. Governments also agreed to raise the bar on the standard of exchange of information upon request, by including a requirement that beneficial ownership of all legal entities be available to tax authorities and exchanged with treaty partners.
The Global Forum invited developing countries to join the move towards automatic exchange of information, and a series of pilot projects will offer technical assistance to facilitate the move. Ministers and other representatives of African countries agreed to launch a new “African Initiative” to increase awareness of the merits of transparency in Africa. The project will be led by African members of the Global Forum and the Chair, in collaboration with the African Tax Administration Forum, the OECD, the World Bank Group, the Centre de Rencontres et d’Etudes des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales (CREDAF).
“We are making concrete progress toward the G20 objective of winning the fight against tax evasion,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said after the signing ceremony. “The fact that so many jurisdictions have agreed today to automatically exchange financial account information shows the significant change that can occur when the international community works together in a focused and ambitious manner. The world is quickly becoming a smaller place for tax cheats, and we are determined to ensure that developing countries also reap the benefits of greater financial sector transparency.”.
The Global Forum is the world’s largest network for international cooperation in the field of taxation and financial information exchange, gathering together 123 countries and jurisdictions on an equal footing. Peru and Croatia joined the Forum at the Berlin meeting.
Foto: JoiseyShowaa, Flickr, Creative Commons. Global X Funds lanza dos nuevos ETFs basados en índices de J.P. Morgan
Global X Funds, the New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds, has launched two ETFs based on indexes developed by J.P. Morgan Corporate and Investment Bank: the Global X | JPMorgan Efficiente Index ETF and the Global X | JPMorgan US Sector Rotator Index ETF.
These new ETFs from Global X enter the market at a time when investors are increasingly interested in products linked to strategies that are designed to help manage against downside risks.
The Global X | JPMorgan Efficiente Index ETF aims to provide investors with superior risk- adjusted returns. The fund rebalances monthly, shifting exposures across five asset classes and thirteen sub-classes, while targeting an annual realized volatility of 10%. The strategy is designed as an alternative investment, seeking to generate low volatility returns across a variety of market conditions.
The Global X | JPMorgan US Sector Rotator Index ETF seeks to provide investors with the ability to participate in market upside while limiting downside exposure. On a monthly basis, the fund will select up to five US sector ETFs which have demonstrated positive recent performance from a pool of 10 possible sectors. The fund may shift up to 100% of its exposure to 1-3 year US treasuries to defend against declining or volatile markets.
“We regularly hear about the need for investment vehicles that manage downside risk”, said Greg King, Executive Vice-President at Global X Funds. “With these new funds, we can now offer two potential solutions to investors who want the liquidity and transparency of an ETF wrapper and a rules-based index approach.”
“We are pleased to see the J.P. Morgan Efficiente and Sector Rotator indexes in ETF form with Global X as the ETF provider,” said Scott Mitchell, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan.
In late October, ING IM’s High Dividend Equity strategy that focusses on the emerging world will be celebrating its three-year anniversary. Many investors are simply ignoring the emerging world now. But Manu Vandenbulck sees attractive valuations, and therefore opportunities.
Manu, you have been managing this strategy for 3 years now – together with your colleague Robert Davis. What are your experiences?
Very positive. I am still pleasantly surprised by the potential of dividend investing in the emerging world. Compared to developed markets, this way of investing in the emerging world is still largely unexplored territory. Asset managers are avoiding this part of the market. New funds in this area are often managed by asset managers that focus on the core markets (and have no specific knowledge of emerging equities) or exclusively focused on the emerging world (and thus lack the broad global focus of ING IM). ING IM has been specialized in dividend investing for 15 years and is a pioneer in this field.
However, a lot of investors pay no attention to dividend investing in the emerging world yet. Why is that?
I think this is largely due to outdated knowledge. A lot of investors primarily associate emerging equities with growth and think that dividend stocks underperform. But dividend stocks often outperform stocks that do not distribute any dividends, even in the emerging world. Additionally, higher growth in the emerging world ultimately translates into higher dividend growth. So dividend investors profit as well, and with a lower average risk! It is important to select the right stocks though: stocks that have the potential to offer robust dividend growth. Also, lots of investors do not know that as many as ninety percent of the shares in the emerging world pay dividends and the average dividend yield is close to 3%. The dividend yield of our strategy exceeds 4%. This is a nice income, given the environment of historically low interest rates.
There are fears of lower growth in China and higher interest rates in the US. What is your view?
There is indeed much talk about the risk of higher rates in the US and the fear that this will have a negative impact on our universe. There are of course parts of the emerging world that we believe will struggle, for example the expensive real estate stocks in Singapore and Hong Kong. In these regions, the debt ratio also has increased significantly in recent years. And so we do not invest in these companies. We believe that growth in China will be lower than in previous years as well, yet we still assume an average growth of 5% for the coming years. Also, the quality of the growth is improving. Some Chinese large banks, for example, are currently so attractively valued that we think it is justified to invest in the Chinese banking sector.
Is now a good time for investors to start dividend investing in the emerging world?
I am convinced it is. The valuation is attractive versus developed markets. The economic growth in the emerging world may not be as high as a few years ago, but it is still higher than in mature markets. That is supportive of earnings growth. Because we have seen a tremendous growth of the number of companies that share profits with their shareholders, this earnings growth will also lead to a gradual increase in dividends. Our focus on dividends and dividend growth also makes our strategy more stable. Dividends simply fluctuate less than profits that are more dependent on the business cycle. As for the macro perspective, we assume a gradual growth of the world economy. In such a situation, increases in interest rates in the US need not be a problem.
What does ING IM offer investors who opt for dividend investing in the emerging world?
First, we offer a lot of experience and proven track records. ING IM has been dividend investing since 1999. We are a pioneer in this field and offer a wide range of equity strategies focused on companies that offer above-average dividends and are able to show dividend growth. Our dividend strategies are managed in a stable team that, day after day, focuses on finding attractively priced companies that fit our approach. Within ING IM, our team can also benefit from the expertise of 25 analysts who are dedicated to their sectors, worldwide. Looking at our performances, this seems to be working well.
The EDF Group, a leader in low carbon energy, and Amundi, the European asset manager, have announced their partnership for the creation of a joint asset management company. The prime purpose of this company will be to raise funds from institutional and retail investors and to manage on behalf of third parties funds intended to finance projects relating to energy transition.
EDF will contribute to this project its privileged access to investment opportunities within the energy sector thanks to its world-renowned expertise in the field. The Group will be a driving force behind investment for project development, implementation and operation. Amundi will provide its investment structuration skills as well as its fund-raising capabilities.
The partnership set up between these two leaders in their relevant scopes of expertise will benefit from the wide range of activities developed by EDF with respect to energy transition, while targeting the critical mass required for streamlined investment solutions. EDF and Amundi intend to offer the market two theme-based specific investment products. The first will be dedicated to renewable energy (wind power, photovoltaic, small hydro, etc.). The second will focus on energy saving strategies for B-to-B (including electro intensive industries). EDF and Amundi have set the fund-raising goal at 1.5 billion euros.
This partnership between an asset manager and an industrial company seeks to develop a new alternative asset class, decorrelated from the volatility of traditional investment markets, in order in particular to draw long term investments for the benefit of the real economy.
The joint asset management company between EDF and Amundi is expected to create in parallel an investment fund based on high yield real estate. This approach could be extended eventually to non-energy related infrastructures.
Yves Perrier, Amundi’s CEO, said: “This partnership with EDF is part of Amundi’s strategy to design innovating investment solutions for its clients whilst addressing investment challenges faced by corporates”.
Thomas Piquemal, EDF Group’s Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, said: “After our inaugural Green Bond issuance in November 2013, a reference in the developing green bond market, this partnership with Amundi demonstrates once again EDF’s ability to innovate for the benefit of energy transition financing.”
. Prudential Financial cierra un acuerdo con ILC para la compra del 40% de AFP Habitat
Prudential Financial announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Inversiones La Construcción, the investment subsidiary of the Chilean Construction Chamber, to acquire an indirect ownership interest in Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat, a leading provider of retirement services in Chile that trades under the symbol HABITAT CI on the Santiago Stock Exchange.
Prudential would expect to acquire indirectly between approximately 34 and 40 percent of AFP Habitat from ILC, depending on the results of a pre-closing partial tender offer by ILC to acquire additional shares of AFP Habitat from public shareholders. Prudential would acquire its indirect interest in the AFP Habitat shares from subsidiaries of ILC for 925 Chilean Pesos per share, for a total purchase price of approximately US$530 million to US$620 million at current exchange rates.
It is expected that the transaction would result in equal ownership positions for Prudential and ILC, with a controlling stake in AFP Habitat held through a joint holding company. The transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first half of 2015.
“Upon completion, this strategic partnership with ILC will help Prudential expand its presence in Latin America and participate in the growing Chilean pension market,” said Bill Yates, President of the Latin American region for Prudential. “ILC has a long track record of operating excellence, and shares Prudential’s values and long-term commitment to provide high-quality service to customers. We are pleased to have this opportunity to enter Chile with a distinguished local partner like ILC.”
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1.1 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, 2014, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century.
. ROBO-STOX and ETF Securities Launch First Global Robotics ETF in Europe
ETF Securities has partnered with ROBO-STOX to launch the first European ETF providing exposure the global robotics and automation sector. ROBO-STOX Global Robotics and Automation GO UCITS ETF has been listed on the London Stock Exchange. Europe’s first and global robotics and automation ETF will provide investors with a simple, liquid and cost effective way to gain access to this rapidly evolving new megatrend in industry sectors that are growing fast.
Howie Li, Co-Head of Canvas, ETF Securities comments: “We are delighted to partner with ROBO-STOX, the recognised leader in robotics and automation investment research, to launch this innovative ETF in an exciting growth sector that no other industry classification body has been able to separately identify to date. This investment solution will provide investors with a global portfolio of listed robotics and automation companies that capture activity from both emerging and established organisations that are highly diversified across countries, sectors and market capitalisation.”
Richard Lightbound, Partner & CEO, ROBO-STOX Partners Ltd., added: “We believe the world is in the early stages of a transformational new economic era, driven by the increasing adoption of sophisticated robotics and automation technologies across all aspects of industry and day-to-day life. ETF Securities’ unique CANVAS platform and the team’s experience in bringing innovative investment products to market will help us pioneer European investment in this fast growing sector.”
After the rise of the internet age, rapid advances in technology such as machine vision, motion sensors and image and voice recognition are enabling robots to perform increasingly sophisticated and delicate knowledge-based work. This widens their application to an incredible array of industries and applications, namely across sectors such as manufacturing, services, healthcare and exploration, in addition to the automotive industry where penetration of robotics is more advanced.
As labour costs rise and the price of automation falls, companies are approaching the tipping point for the rapid adoption of robotic technologies. Aging populations and shrinking workforces will accelerate this trend. There has been a sharp rise in robotics production and sales: In the last 10 years, the worldwide annual supply of industrial robots more than doubled from 80,000 units in 2003 to more than 170,000 in 2013.
Making Robotics and Automation Investable
For investors, the growth prospects of the robotics and automation sector are compelling. However, neither the traditional Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) nor the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), each of which attempts to standardise the world’s industry classifications, recognises “robotics” and/or “automation” as an official sector classification.
By creating the ROBO-STOX Industry Classification, that gap in the market has been filled and investors and other interested parties can now better acquaint themselves with the corporate landscape of the robotics and automation industry.
To capture the full economic value of the robotics and automation industry, the ROBO-STOX Industry Classification has identified companies all along the production value chain. This ranges, for example, from companies that physically manufacture robots and automation machinery, to companies specialising in the types of software and technology that enable automation. This approach allows the ROBO-STOX Industry Classification to truly capture today’s and tomorrow’s “makers” within the robotics and automation industry.
The ROBO-STOX Global Robotics and Automation UCITS Index enables investors to track the sector in a highly diversified and dynamic way, ensuring it evolves with new growth trends as they emerge. The Index today comprises of 82 constituent companies involved in the global robotics and automation industry, spanning the world’s major regions. The Index constituents are selected from the ROBO-STOX Industry Classification by reference to a series of filters including that they must be listed on a recognised global stock exchanges and satisfy minimum criteria relating to market capitalisation and average daily value traded.
Within the Index, a two-tiered, equal weighting approach captures robotic ‘pure plays’ (so called “bellwethers”, currently 40% of the Index) and stocks with robotic segments (“non-bellwethers”, currently 60% of the Index). The constituents are reviewed and rebalanced on a quarterly basis.
The Index has appreciated more than four-fold, achieving an annualised rate of return of over 18% over the past ten years, substantially outperforming most major equity, tech and other asset class benchmarks. The diversified nature of the Index has contributed to its relatively low volatility over time, despite its high growth performance.
The ROBO-STOX Global Robotics and Automation GO UCITS ETF will be listed in three currency lines (GBP, EUR, US$) on the London Stock Exchange and registered for distribution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Spain and Luxembourg.
Foto: Daniel Foster437, Flickr, Creative Commons. El 73% de los estadounidenses que viven en el extranjero, tentados a renunciar a su ciudadanía por FATCA
73 per cent of Americans who live outside the U.S. are tempted to give up their U.S. passports in response to the introduction of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), reveals a new survey by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.
The findings come as Federal Register data shows that the number of Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship increased by 39 per cent in the three months to September after the new global tax law came into force.
In the global poll, deVere Group recently asked more than 400 of its American expatriate clients: ‘Would you consider voluntarily relinquishing your U.S. citizenship due to the impact of FATCA?’
Cumulatively, 73 per cent of respondents answered that they had ‘actively considered it’, ‘are thinking about it,’ or ‘have explored the options of it.’
16 per cent said they would not consider relinquishing their U.S. citizenship and 11 per cent did not know.
This is an increase of five percentage points from November when deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients globally, conducted a similar survey.
Purportedly designed as a tool to counteract tax evasion, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act has resulted in additional reporting requirements for all U.S. citizens overseas. FATCA opponents argue that it will do little, if anything, to tackle the important international matter of tax evasion.
Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, comments: “It is alarming that nearly three quarters of Americans abroad said that they are going to or have thought about giving up their U.S. citizenship.
“Nationality, especially for an expatriate, is an incredibly important part of one’s identity and typically it’s a very emotional issue too. It is our experience that most Americans are extremely saddened at the prospect of giving up their U.S. citizenship to avoid the harsh implications of a new and utterly flawed tax law.
“However, it should come as little surprise that such a high number are prepared to do so because FATCA’s reporting requirements are excessively onerous, burdensome and expensive. Also many non-U.S. banks and other financial institutions will no longer work with Americans which can make living outside the U.S. achingly complicated.”
With most Americans telling deVere Group that they are loathed to give up their passports, Nigel Green urges them to speak to a financial advisor in the first instance.
He says: “Americans abroad who are being adversely affected by FATCA should explore all the available options to them to mitigate the absurd tax law’s effects with an independent financial advisor with cross border experience before renouncing their citizenship.
“This is especially important as there are certain established federal regulations aimed at discouraging Americans from renouncing their citizenship for tax reasons.
“There are now many vehicles that U.S. expatriates can use to significantly reduce the impact of FATCA, including supplementary overseas pension plans.”
There are an estimated 7.6 million Americans living overseas.
This latest deVere Group survey, carried out in September 2014, polled 416 Americans.
Toronto. Foto: Brian Carson. Natixis GAM adquiere la plataforma de fondos retail canadiense NexGen Financial
Natixis Global Asset Management has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of NexGen Financial Corporation. NexGen is a Toronto-based asset manager with more than CA$919 million (as of Sept. 30, 2014) in assets under management and a broad distribution platform.
“NexGen is an innovative firm with a strong management team and a solid lineup of retail mutual funds offered through an expansive distribution platform,” said John Hailer, chief executive officer of Natixis in the Americas and Asia. “We are honored to build on the legacy James Hunter established in one of the largest retail markets in the world. Together with NexGen, we will be better positioned to serve the market with our worldwide network of affiliated investment managers.”
Natixis plans to build upon NexGen’s existing mutual fund platform by selectively offering its broad range of asset management strategies into the Canadian retail market.
“We are very pleased to join one of the world’s leading asset managers,” said Abe Goenka, NexGen co-CEO. “It’s exciting to become part of an organization with significant resources and an outstanding group of affiliated asset managers. This gives us greater access to a broad set of investment strategies that will allow us to create new products adding to our already diverse fund offerings, allowing us to better serve current clients and pursue new opportunities.”
Expanding into Canada is part of Natixis’ strategic plan to actively pursue international growth. In June, the firm announced plans to launch a new business development initiative in Canada focused on tapping into the steadily growing Canadian institutional market. In 2013, the firm established its retail platform in the UK, adding personnel and launching several mutual funds registered for the UK.
NexGen is recognized for offering tax-efficient wealth management strategies. Their patent pending proprietary mutual fund structure is designed to achieve a number of tax planning objectives that are not publicly offered by any other Canadian mutual fund company. The firm distributes through more than 1,600 financial advisors and more than 100 dealers throughout Canada.
In keeping with the Natixis multi-affiliate business model, NexGen will operate autonomously with the existing senior management team. There are no immediate plans to make staffing changes or changes to their business model.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Ontario court approvals, a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by NexGen shareholders and applicable regulatory approvals.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG -. ICBC (Europe) Becomes the First EU-registered Chinese Bank Entering European Investment Fund Industry
On 20 of October, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. has received the approval in principle by the Luxembourg regulator CSSF in relation to its first UCITS in Luxembourg investing in China’s onshore bond market. It will be the first UCITS initiated by ICBC (Europe), which not only enables ICBC to be the first Chinese bank tapping European investment fund industry through its European arm, but also signals the key milestone of business transformation and localization of ICBC in the overseas market.
The UCITS to be launched by ICBC (Europe) is the actively managed “China Concept” investment fund which will mainly invest into the China inter-bank bond market and be distributed to the European investors. The initiation of the UCITS will further enrich the RMB product line of ICBC (Europe) and greatly facilitate the private banking and asset management business of ICBC group in the European market. After local registration, the UCITS will also be distributed through the branches of ICBC (Europe) in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
As the regional hub of ICBC group in Continental European countries, ICBC (Europe) is one of the majors players of cross-boarder RMB business in the European market and provides a variety of RMB products and services including cross-border settlement, deposit and loan, trade finance, RMB FX and Derivatives, offshore RMB bond issuance and RMB asset management, which in total contribute about 35% of its revenues. ICBC (Europe) was awarded “best bank in Luxembourg” by Euromoney in July 2014 as a result of its leading position in RMB business and outstanding performance.
The responsible person of the bank said, ICBC (Europe) will endeavor to provide investment fund products and services through its network around Europe by taking the opportunity of RMB internationalization and leveraging the expertise of the group in RMB business and China onshore bond market.
