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Natixis Global Asset Management to Relocate Boston Headquarters to 888 Boylston

Natixis Global Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in the world, announced it will relocate its United States corporate headquarters to 888 Boylston Street in Boston as the anchor tenant in a new office building being developed by Boston Properties adjacent to the Prudential Center in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Expecting to build upon its sustained pattern of growth, Natixis will occupy approximately 128,000 square feet in five stories with the option to expand onto a sixth floor. Construction of Natixis’ space is scheduled for completion in fall 2017.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting project for the City of Boston and the region’s economy,” said John Hailer, President and CEO of Natixis Global Asset Management, Asia and the Americas. “Boston has always provided an excellent home for Natixis, and we feel fortunate to be able to grow and further expand in this great city.”

The 17-story, 425,000-square-foot 888 Boylston Street is designed to be Boston’s most sustainable office building, using 45 percent less energy and 37 percent less potable water than an average office building. Customers at 888 Boylston can leave the lights off 60 percent of the time, as the building features daylight penetration to 95 percent of the floor area. Designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, additional sustainable features include a chilled beam HVAC system, on-site rooftop wind power generation that will power all exterior building and plaza lighting, and a rain harvesting and reuse system.

“The Prudential Center has helped define the skyline of Boston for more than half a century, and 888 Boylston Street represents a new definition in sustainable building design,” said Bryan Koop, Boston Properties Senior Vice President and Regional Manager. “Natixis Global Asset Management has been an important corporate presence in the Back Bay for many years, and we are honored to have them as the lead customer at this exciting project.”

With more than 3,400 employees worldwide, 1,400 of whom are located in Boston, Natixis has expanded significantly over the last 15 years, having successfully acquired more than 15 new investment management firms. As a testament to its strategic growth, Natixis was recognized as the #1 U.S. mutual fund familyby Barron’s this year.

Consistently voted one of Boston’s best places to work by the Boston Globe and voted a “Top Charitable Contributor” by the Boston Business Journal in 2013, Natixis employees receive paid time off for volunteering and participate in an employee match program in which employees donated nearly $400,000 to various charities in 2013.

Natixis continues to expand its presence in Boston, adding more than 200 jobs in the past five years and more than 500 over the past decade. 888 Boylston will provide the space Natixis needs to conduct business, welcome growth both locally and internationally, and continue to be one of the best and most innovative places to work in Boston.

John Barry and Michael Joyce of Transwestern | RBJ represented Natixis in this transaction.

ETFs and ETPs Gathered a Record US$160.5 Billion in Net New Assets in 2014

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

ETFGI’s analysis finds ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered US$33.8 Bn in net new assets in July, pushing YTD NNA to US$160.5 Bn, a new record level of NNA at this point in the year, outpacing the previous high of US$149.9 Bn set in 2013.

Assets declined slightly (0.4%) from their record high of US$2.64 Tn in June to US$2.62 Tn at the end of July. The global ETF/ETP industry now has 5,410 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,477 listings, from 222 providers listed on 60 exchanges, according to preliminary data from ETFGI’s end July 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report.

The ETF/ETP industries in Europe and Japan have gathered record levels of YTD NNA at US$42.7 Bn and US$14.9 Bn, respectively. New record highs in assets were reached at the end of July by ETF/ETP industries in Canada with US$66 Bn, Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) with US$103 Bn, and Japan with US$91.5 Bn.

“In July investors invested almost all net new money into equity exposures as investor confidence was positive through most of month. The S&P 500 hit an all-time high during July, but ended the month down 1% as markets were rattled at the very end of the month by the situations in the Ukraine and Gaza and a poor start to the U.S. earnings season. Developed markets outside the US ended the month down 2%, while emerging markets gained 2%, Asia was up 5% and frontier markets were up 4% in July,” according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI.

In July 2014, ETFs/ETPs saw net inflows of US$33.83 Bn. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with US$27.7 Bn, followed by fixed income with US$3.2 Bn, and commodity ETFs/ETPs with US$1.7 Bn in net inflows.

Vanguard gathered the largest net ETF/ETP inflows in July with US$7.69 Bn, followed by iShares with US$6.82 Bn, SPDR ETFs with US$4.24 Bn, DB x-trackers with US$1.97 Bn and PowerShares with US$1.79 Bn in net inflows.

Henderson Adds Director to its US$10.3bn Multi-Asset Team

| By Fórmate a Fondo | 0 Comentarios

Henderson Global Investors has announced the appointment of John Harrison to the position of Director, Multi-Asset. John joins in August and will be responsible for representing the multi-asset team in the retail and institutional channels. He will work closely with the team to expand the existing business and broaden its geographical footprint.

Bill McQuaker, co-head of multi-asset adds, “John’s blend of investment and client management skills is a great addition to the team. Most recently John’s experience has been in managing clients relationships in the multi-asset and advisory market. In addition to the wealth of investment experience he has built during his career, this will be of enormous benefit to us.”

John has considerable knowledge of asset allocation-led investment strategies and experience in developing a global multi-asset platform. He joins Henderson in August from AllenbridgeEpic where he acted as a senior adviser to four local government pension schemes with combined assets in excess of £8bn. Prior to this he worked at UBS for 16 years’ latterly as UK chief investment officer & head of UK institutional advisory solutions.

The multi-asset team run a total of £6.3bn (US$10.3bn) as at 30th April 2014.

Wealth Managers Who Ask For Referrals Double Their Chance Of Being Recommended By Clients

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Very few of the world’s up-and-coming wealthy are uncomfortable providing friends, family, or colleagues with referrals to a wealth manager, however the majority of wealth managers are missing out on the opportunity to acquire clients through this valuable channel, says a new global study released today by SEI, Scorpio Partnership, and NPG Wealth Management. The study, “The Futurewealth Report 2014: The Advocacy Impact,” reveals that advisors double their chances of receiving a referral by simply asking for one – as 47 percent of respondents said they would actively refer, without being prompted, and an additional 47 percent reported they would refer, but only if asked to do so. However, only 3 in 10 of the 3,025 global respondents with an average net worth of $2.9 million reported being asked for referrals by their wealth managers at least once a quarter.

The report, which also examined the drivers that compel the global wealthy to advocate for their wealth managers, further unveiled that the propensity to recommend does not translate into actual referrals. On the contrary, referrals are triggered by a complex blend of circumstances and financial behaviors and are heavily influenced by a client’s age and geographic background.

“This year’s Futurewealth series has provided valuable insights on investors’ digital habits, their purchasing drivers, investor loyalty, and, now, what it takes to spark client advocacy,” said Alfred P. West, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SEI. “It’s well known that a referral is one of the strongest tools in an advisor’s marketing arsenal, and what we’ve learned is that there is no exact science to winning client referrals. Client behavior and confidence in advisors varies based on personality, age, and location, and, thus, is unpredictable. However, by taking action wealth managers increase their likelihood of organically growing their business.”

According to the report, respondents from the West (the Americas and Europe) are more likely to recommend wealth managers if they demonstrate stability, good performance, personal service, and integrity. In the Americas specifically, nearly two-thirds of up-and-coming wealthy would recommend a stable firm (58 percent of respondents), followed closely by strong performance (54 percent). With the quality of the “salesperson” (15 percent) and “periodic contact” and “information about new products and services” (14 percent) ranking as the most important elements in a wealth manager’s ability to deliver a great experience (compared to staff efficiency and order processing in the 2011 survey), the study has uncovered that today’s high-net-worth investors increasingly desire a strong relationship with their wealth advisors.

“This year’s Futurewealth research confirms that the high-net-worth global investor base cannot be lumped into one single category. Rather, this group is incredibly diverse, and we’ve discovered that depending on lifecycles and net worth, high-net-worth investors select, stay with, and ultimately refer wealth managers for disparate reasons,” said Ryan Hicke, Senior Vice President, SEI Wealth Platform. “That said, above all this group is looking for stable, trustworthy, and engaged relationships with wealth managers. This finding should not be taken lightly. The relationship side of the business is ever-important, and managers must take the time to implement strategies that allow them to focus more heavily on personal interaction, without sacrificing quality.”

Further, while those in the Americas are most positive about their advisors, this group of up-and-coming-wealthy have referred the fewest clients to their firm (five) when compared to their European and Asian Pacific counterparts, seven and eight referrals respectively. In examining age, the study found that the respondents under 40 (4 in 10 of whom are asked by their wealth manager every quarter for referrals) referred the most clients (nine). By contrast, the oldest group polled (over 60), who are asked quarterly for referrals only 8 percent of the time, referred the least (four). In Asia Pacific, the region with the highest average number of recommendations, nearly 45 percent of clients are asked for referrals quarterly.

“Yes, many factors contribute to investors providing referrals, but one element of the referral game is undeniable: wealth managers who directly ask for referrals on a consistent basis are the most likely to get them,” said Kevin Crowe, Head of Solutions, SEI Advisor Network. “Furthermore, the more successful advisors we work with have found that facilitating actual ‘introductions’ as part of the referral process increases the likelihood the referral will actually become a client.”

This is the fourth paper in a four-part series delving into the findings of the Futurewealth Project, which maps the journey of the world’s up-and-coming wealthy with their wealth manager. The first paper examined the qualities impacting the decision-making process of selecting a new financial provider. The second paper studied the factors critical to high-net-worth individuals when making a transaction with a firm and the role of digital technology. The third paper looked into the factors that contribute to customer loyalty.

As Overweight as Possible in Oil Based Energy

| By Fórmate a Fondo | 0 Comentarios

In the following Question and Answer session, David Donora, Head of Commodities at Threadneedle Investments, addresses some of the key concerns currently facing investors in commodity markets, and explains his view of the outlook for the market.

What is your outlook for commodities for the remainder of 2014?

David: We are bullish on the macro outlook for the rest of 2014. The OECD countries and in particular North America, the region where economic growth is currently the strongest, and where growth is accelerating, will drive the expansion. Unless there is a significant escalation of geopolitical events we expect global growth to improve. Given that the developed world is leading the global economy, we anticipate that the expansion will be more energy intensive, and less intensive in terms of its consumption of industrial-type commodities, than if it were led by the emerging economies.

Could you elaborate on developments in the energy complex, including how the Iraqi conflict is affecting oil?

David: We anticipate that the price of Brent will remain high at about US$110 to US$115 a barrel by the year end. We also foresee a continuing dislocation between Brent and WTI with the latter continuing to trade at a discount of around US$7-15 a barrel to Brent.

In terms of curves this means that we expect Brent to remain in backwardation, that is to say that the prices for immediate delivery will be higher than the prices for oil five to ten years ahead, and similarly in the short term we recognize that prices for WTI will also be in backwardation.

But as oil production continues to increase in North America, we would expect to see that curve eventually flatten out.

What is your view of base, industrial and precious metals?

David: At the sector level we are positioned in line in base metals, as opposed to oil-based energy where we are as overweight as possible. Although we have a market weighting overall in base metals, we are significantly overweight lead and nickel and underweight copper and aluminum.

In precious metals, we have an underweight stance towards gold and are market weight in silver. Our underweight in gold is not so much a reflection of a bearish view on the precious metal itself but more because we are increasingly bullish on the broader range of commodities and because we would expect gold to lag commodities in general in the current environment. Gold does best when, not only is there geopolitical risk, but also when we have questions about whether the US dollar is functioning as a credible reserve currency. At present it is, given that the US is enjoying relatively strong growth and investment is flowing into the country to fund growing manufacturing and energy production. Thus in 2013, US$200bn of investment flowed into oil production in the US alone.

You may download the complete report through the pdf file attached.

Itaú Buys the Stake of Chilean Wealth Manager MCC It Did Not Own

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Itaú Unibanco Holding Financeira SA, Latin America’s largest bank by market value, agreed on Monday to buy the stake it still did own of Chilean wealth management company Munita, Cruzat y Claro SA‘s brokerage and securities unit for an undisclosed sum, according to Reuters.

Itaú first acquired a stake in Santiago-based Munita, Cruzat y Claro in 2011 to speed up the expansion of Itaú Unibanco’s wealth management and private banking platform in Chile. Currently, Itaú oversees $83 billion in private banking accounts, the largest for a Latin American bank.

In a statement, Itaú said the decision to exercise an option to buy the rest of MCC showcases “its clear commitment to the Chilean market and the vision for Itaú Private Bank to be a leader in Latin America.”

Ramón Suárez will remain as chief executive of MCC, with Alberto Munita, Gastón Cruzat and Eugenio Claro – the founding partners of MCC – will stay in the company’s board, the statement said.

CalPERS and UBS GAM Announce USD 500 Million Infrastructure Partnership

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and UBS Global Asset Management have formed a strategic infrastructure partnership, Golden State Matterhorn, LLC to pursue infrastructure investment opportunities across core, OECD markets. CalPERS and UBS have made capital commitments of USD 485 million and USD 15 million, respectively, to the partnership.

UBS will be the managing member and it will utilize the services of Infrastructure Asset Management (“IAM”), an investment area within UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business unit. IAM originates and manages direct investments in infrastructure assets globally on behalf of institutional investors from around the world. The team includes senior executives who have been active in the infrastructure and related sectors since the early 1990s.

CalPERS’ Senior Portfolio Manager, Randall Mullan noted, “We are pleased to add UBS Global Asset Management to our roster of preferred partners as we expand our access to infrastructure assets across the globe.”

Global Head of UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business, Paul Moy, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with CalPERS, one of the world’s pre-eminent institutional investors, for this important mandate. We share a common view of good infrastructure investment and the value-add and risk management activities associated with these investments. We are now working together to put this view into practice.”

GSM LLC was established on June 30^th, 2014 and is actively considering infrastructure investments opportunities with the goal of making two to four investments over the next few years.

BNP Paribas Securities Services to Acquire Prime Fund Services from Credit Suisse

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

BNP Paribas Securities Services, a global custodian with USD 9 trillion in assets under custody, has announced that it has agreed to acquire Prime Fund Services (PFS), a leading provider of fund administration, custody and banking solutions for alternative investment managers, from Credit Suisse. The move is part of BNP Paribas Securities Services’ strategy to develop its global fund administration franchise.

The transaction will result in a global fund administrator dedicated to alternative investment managers that will service over USD 231 billion of alternative assets and will be ideally positioned to support the convergence of traditional and alternative managers.

Clients will benefit from an enhanced, full service offering that brings together PFS’ administration expertise in the alternative investment sector and BNP Paribas Securities Services’ extensive custody and depositary network, and global reach, according to BNP Paribas Securities Services.

PFS employs staff in Europe, Asia and the United States. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2015.

Reflecting on Argentina’s “Default”

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Despite falling stock markets and a decline in the peso versus the dollar, Argentina remains in defiant mood regarding its “technical default”.

The stumbling point is the so-called ‘vulture’ funds (a group of US hedge funds), which had rejected a renewed offer from the government. The Argentinian government is refusing to offer more to placate these holdouts. Judge Thomas Griesa is insisting that Argentina must pay the holdouts in full at the same time as holders of its performing debt.

To understand the problem you need to go back a little in Argentina’s history. Having initially defaulted on its debt in 2001, the vast majority of bondholders – around 93% – agreed to a settlement in 2005 and 2010. However, a small group of holdouts refused to settle. A rights upon future offers (RUFO) clause, however, was written into the settlements in 2005 and 2010. Essentially, this clause means that if better terms are agreed with the holdouts then the same terms need to be given to those who had settled in 2005 and 2010, which would vastly increase the cost of any settlement.

The situation remains highly fluid and hinges on a complex legal and financial transaction. At the time of writing, there are plenty of headlines in the media, according to Henderson Global Investors. There is talk of a potential deal in which a consortium of banks would buy the bonds from the holdouts and then attempt a fresh negotiation with the Argentinian government, either in the near future or maybe after the expiry of the RUFO in December 2014.

The International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA) is reported to rule on 1 August on whether the missed bond payments mean that credit default swaps (CDS) have been triggered on Argentina’s overseas securities. Also at stake is the issue of ‘cross-default’, where holders of Argentina’s foreign currency bonds might invoke a ‘cross-default clause’ in their bond holdings and demand immediate payment.

Steve Drew, Head of Emerging Market Credit at Henderson Global Investors comments: “In terms of ability to pay, from Argentina’s perspective it wants to avoid paying a lot more than it has to. The expiration of the RUFO clause in December 2014 offers a potential exit strategy as it would allow Argentina to negotiate better terms with the holdouts without triggering additional payouts to those bondholders who settled in 2005 and 2010.

“In terms of willingness to pay, there is no love lost between the Argentinian government and the holdouts, with the government staking a lot of political capital on not paying any more to what it sees as a collection of opportunists. A scenario that might allow both sides to save face is for the holdouts to sell their bonds, probably at a discount to existing prices, to a consortium of banks who would then negotiate with the Argentinian government. Such a scenario might occur as early as the first quarter of 2015, with the banks receiving a price higher than the 2010 settlement but lower than that demanded by the holdouts. In such a situation, Argentina could be welcomed back into the capital markets fold within 1-2 years as markets tend to be quite forgiving when there is an appetite for yield and a lack of similar opportunities. Of course, the situation is highly fluid and I expect we will learn more over the coming days and weeks.”

Christopher Palmer, Director of Emerging Markets Equities comments: “This is largely a US-judicial driven situation and, frankly, has had little or limited impact on Argentinian assets in the long term.

“We are looking through this to the elections next year, when we anticipate a more market-friendly government to be elected. In our view, this is the last gasp of the populist Kirchner government that has drawn its battle lines. We believe a solution will ultimately be worked out because the amount outstanding – even if holdouts were paid in full – is around $1.5 billion (provided the RUFO clause is not triggered), which is small relative to the size of the Argentinian economy.”

Nikko Asset Management Makes Senior Executive Hire in Institutional Business

| By Alicia Miguel | 0 Comentarios

Stefanie Drews is joining Nikko Asset Management as Global Head of Institutional Marketing and Proposition, as the Tokyo-based firm continues to invest in its institutional platform and solutions business globally, the company has announced.

Drews was most recently Global Head of Key Clients and Family Offices at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in London. She will be relocating to Tokyo later in 2014 to assume her new role.

“We feel very fortunate to have Stefanie join Nikko Asset Management as we take our institutional business to the next level,” said Hideo Abe, Executive Vice Chairman of Nikko Asset Management. “She has had a distinguished career in the investment and wealth management industry and we are very confident that her contributions will greatly improve the customer experience for institutional clients.”

Drews will be responsible for developing and managing the institutional proposition working closely with the firm’s investment, operational and distribution teams globally. She will manage institutional product, marketing and cross border specialist groups in Nikko Asset Management’s locations around the world. Her role was created in line with the firm’s strategy of increasing its business in the institutional arena.

Prior to Barclays, Drews was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business, where she ran a highly successful investment management program for institutional clients as well as high-net-worth individuals. She is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University.