Fitch Affirms 4 Andorran Banks

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Fitch Ratings has affirmed Andorra Banc Agricol Reig’s (Andbank), Credit Andorra‘s, and Mora Banc Grup, SA’s (MoraBanc) Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘A-‘ and Viability Ratings (VR) at ‘a-‘, and Banca Privada d’Andorra’s (BPA) Long-term IDR at ‘BB+’ and VR at ‘bb+’. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs of Andbank and BPA are Stable. The Outlook on Credit Andorra has been revised to Stable from Negative. The Outlook on Morabanc is Negative.

The banks’ Long-term IDRs are driven by their intrinsic credit profiles, reflected by their VRs. All four banks focus on developing their private banking and asset management franchises and had positive net new money inflows in 2013, which supported their continued assets under management (AuM) growth. Andbank, Credit Andorra and BPA focused on growing through their foreign subsidiaries, while MoraBanc’s international presence is more limited and its growth strategy lies in attracting private banking clients to Andorra. Fitch believes that the onshore nature of Andorran banks’ recent AuM growth reduces the potential impact from future automatic tax information exchange agreements that Andorran banks may be subject to.

Although Andorran banks concentrate on wealth management activities, they are also active in domestic retail banking. Their asset quality deteriorated during the recession of the Andorran economy. As GDP is expected to start growing moderately in 2014, Fitch expects pressure on banks’ asset quality to ease, but asset quality ratios are likely to deteriorate further, albeit at a significantly slower pace. Together with the banks’ generally healthy profitability, this should enable them to provide for impairment needs and build up capital through retained earnings.

Andbank‘s strong capitalisation has a high influence on its VR. Its Fitch core capital (FCC) ratio was 20.8% at end-2013. The acquisition of the Spanish private banking business of Inversis Banco, which is expected to be completed by end-2014, will initially have a negative impact on capital ratios as it will generate EUR120m goodwill. The VR is based on Fitch’s assumption that Andbank will recover its capital position within a short period of time through stronger internal capital generation, helped by a reduction in the dividend pay-out ratio. The bank’s VR also considers healthy profitability and cost efficiency, as well as its deteriorated asset quality. The ratio of problematic assets (defined as non-performing loans and loans in arrears plus foreclosed assets) was 6.5% at YE13 and problematic loans (non-performing loans and loans in arrears) were well covered by provisions at 56%.

The Outlook on Credit Andorra has been revised to Stable from Negative, supported by the bank’s increased problematic asset coverage levels and capitalisation, which in Fitch’s view largely outweighed the asset quality deterioration in 2013. The bank was able to increase coverage and capitalisation due to its strong and recurrent earnings generation capacity, which has relatively higher importance for its VR, combined with a conservative provisioning and earnings retention policy. Nevertheless, Fitch acknowledges that the bank’s relatively large exposure to the domestic retail market affects its asset quality. Credit Andorra’s problematic asset ratio was 8% at end-2013, with problematic loans 34% covered. The VR is based on Fitch’s expectation that the bank will continue to increase its impairment reserve coverage following the provisioning approach set in 2013.

Fitch considers capitalisation and leverage to have a high influence on MoraBanc‘s VR. The agency considers MoraBanc’s capitalisation is strong compared with its peers, with an FCC ratio of 28.5% at end-2013. Combined with a sovereign debt securities portfolio that has higher average ratings than those of its peers, this compensates for the weaker quality of the bank’s loan book. Its non-performing loans and loans in arrears represented 5.1% of loans, with a low 15% coverage, underscoring its reliance on the valuation of collaterals. Including foreclosed assets, its problematic assets ratio was 9%. MoraBanc’s growth strategy, which consists of attracting private banking clients to Andorra instead of incrementing its international footprint, has resulted in relatively lower business growth in recent years.

BPA‘s VR reflects its respectable domestic and growing international franchise, which is beginning to be reflected in profitability, and adequate liquidity. Capitalisation and leverage and asset quality have a high influence on BPA’s VR. Fitch considers capitalisation tight as BPA only maintains moderate buffers. The bank’s FCC/RWA ratio declined to 9.2% at end-2013 from 10.3% at end-2012.

Ongoing Investor Uncertainty Emerges as Key Trend on Advisor Top-of-Mind Index

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More than five years after the 2008 financial crisis, financial advisors report that investors are still skittish, with three of their biggest priorities being “defensive” in nature: protecting wealth from market volatility, finding reliable income sources and minimizing the impact of taxes on portfolios, according to Eaton Vance’s “Advisor Top-of-Mind Index“. Capital appreciation ranked lower on the Index, signaling that many clients are less concerned about growing their portfolios.

Eaton Vance’s new quarterly Advisor Top-of-Mind Index, based on a survey of financial advisors, is calculated using a mathematical formula that incorporates the overall importance of each client issue, combined with how fast the issue is increasing in importance. Volatility measured 114.9 on the index, with income concerns ranking close behind at 106.6 and reducing taxes scoring 92.8. Growing wealth through capital appreciation came in at only 85.5.

“Despite five years of strong equity returns and fairly low market volatility in 2013, many investors are afraid of getting burned like they did in 2008,” said Bob Cunha, Managing Director, Marketing and Distribution Strategy for Eaton Vance. “On top of that, many are looking at the prospect of double-digit losses in their bond portfolios as interest rates rise, along with tax bills that have skyrocketed. They appear to be more focused on protection than growth.”

Rich Bernstein, CEO and CIO of Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC, agrees but sees a silver lining. “The fact that many investors are still fearful is actually a good sign. It suggests to me that the bull market in U.S. equities has not run its course. It’s when investors get complacent and overconfident that I start telling clients to expect a potential market reversal. That’s clearly not the case today.”

With a broad range of factors potentially impacting markets and triggering investor anxiety, the Advisor Top-of-Mind Index aims to articulate the most commonly raised concerns. It is part of an ongoing study developed to help identify the investment themes and concerns clients are raising with their advisors most often. The Advisor Top-of-Mind Index is similar to the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index (which is not affiliated with Eaton Vance) in that it calculates a weighted average of current perceptions and what advisors think about the trends. In future quarters, Eaton Vance will measure which of these factors increase or decrease on the Advisor Top-of-Mind Index to glean insights into what advisors perceive to be clients’ biggest financial challenges, along with how market volatility shapes client and advisor perspectives.

“The Advisor Top-of-Mind Index acts like a thermometer for the financial advisor community,” Cunha said. “We believe it will help us, and our industry as a whole, to develop the tools and resources advisors need so they will be equipped to address their clients’ most pressing needs. As sentiment changes over time, the index will help us identify evolving client concerns so that we can help advisors prepare their clients for the future and effectively navigate a still-uncertain investment environment.”

Robeco Strengthens its Expansion in Latin America and U.S. Offshore with Joel Peña’s Addition

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Robeco refuerza su expansión en Latinoamérica y US Offshore con la incorporación de Joel Peña
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrJoel Peña, Managing Director for Latin America and U.S. Offshore at Robeco / Courtesy Photo. Robeco Strengthens its Expansion in Latin America and U.S. Offshore with Joel Peña’s Addition

Robeco has announced Joel Peña’s incorporation to its Latin American and U.S. Offshore team; Peña, CFA, will head the U.S. offshore / Latin American business growth from Miami and New York.

Joel Peña, a professional with 13 years experience in the asset management industry began his professional career at BBVA Bancomer in Houston and Miami, later to join Bank Hapoalim as Senior Private Banker. He joins Robeco after nearly six years as head of institutional and private clients in Latin America for Pimco. He graduated in economics from Tec de Monterrey (ITESM) and has an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He also has CFA and CAIA certifications.
 
Joel Peña will be Managing Director for Latin America and U.S. Offshore, reporting to Javier Garcia de Vinuesa, Robeco’s head for Offshore U.S., Spain and Latam. His main objective shall be to position Robeco amongst the leading investment fund managers in the Latin American market and to continue the management company’s successful growth within this sector. Amongst the main challenges he will face, will be to consolidate and expand Robeco in line with the firm’s strategic plan 2014-2018. His extensive knowledge of the markets and his experience within the industry will be critical in order to meet the growth objectives defined by Robeco for these markets.
 
Robeco has excelled in recent years both for its contributions in the “Factor” and “Quant” investing area within the pension funds industry, as for its ability in “American Value”, “Emerging Equity” and “Credit” strategies within the institutional sector. It currently manages US$250 billion from its offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
 
Javier Garcia de Vinuesa points out: “Joel Peña’s career within the asset management industry and his knowledge of Latin American and U.S. Offshore markets fits very well with Robeco’s criteria and with industry demands in Latin America: a market with highly filtered product, thorough in ‘best in class’, and based on excellence. “

Mark Haefele Appointed UBS Global Chief Investment Officer

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UBS has announced that Mark Haefele will assume the role of Global Chief Investment Officer for UBS Wealth Management and Wealth Management Americas. Alexander Friedman, the current Global Chief Investment Officer, has decided to step down in order to pursue a new opportunity outside the firm. 

Mr. Haefele will join the Wealth Management Executive Committee. He joined the firm in 2011 and is currently the head of the CIO Global Investment Office, reporting to Mr. Friedman. Prior to joining UBS, Mr. Haefele was a managing director at Matrix Capital Management, and before that was co-founder and co-portfolio manager at The Sonic Funds.

Juerg Zeltner, CEO of UBS Wealth Management said, “We are pleased that Mark Haefele has accepted this key role for UBS Wealth Management. Mark is a highly qualified investment expert with a global track record. His management skills and ability to transform his deep market knowledge into relevant information that benefits our clients, make him the ideal successor for this important position.”

UBS plans to further invest in the Chief Investment Office with a particular focus on expanding its capabilities in the emerging markets and Asian geographies as well as in its alternative investing and value-based investing offerings.

Mr. Friedman joined UBS in February 2011 to establish the Chief Investment Office and develop a UBS House View. Today, the Chief Investment Office manages the discretionary and advisory assets of Wealth Management clients worldwide, and provides the firm’s clear, consolidated view on all markets and asset classes.

Under the leadership of Mr. Friedman and his team, a systematic, global investment process has been established that has produced strong and consistent investment results for the firm’s clients during a volatile, post-crisis period. The process comprises the expertise of more than 900 in-house analysts and external experts, and forms the foundation of the UBS House View, globally recognized for its comprehensive and effective investment insights.

On the departure of Mr. Friedman, Mr. Zeltner said: “We are grateful to Alex for his exceptional leadership in creating a strong CIO team and running a world-class investment organization that has produced excellent results. He did a fantastic job and we wish him much success in his future endeavors.”

Millionaires Reveal their Top Five Past Investing Mistakes

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The top five most common mistakes made by millionaires are failing to diversify, investing without a plan, making emotional decisions, failing to review a portfolio, and placing too much focus on previous returns, finds a poll by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.

In the global deVere Group survey of 880 high-net-worth clients, when asked to reveal their number one investing mistake before seeking professional advice from deVere, 23 per cent cited failing to adequately diversify their portfolio. 22 per cent responded investing without a plan, 20 per cent said it was making emotional decisions, 16 per cent answered failing to regularly review the portfolio, and 14 per cent claimed it was focusing too heavily on the history of an investment’s returns.  5 per cent cited other errors, including impatience, investing near the top of the market, adhering to recommendations from acquaintances, and paying tax on the investments unnecessarily, amongst others.

Those polled by the organisation, which has more than 80,000 clients worldwide, are based in the U.K., the U.S., South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, the UAE, Indonesia and Thailand and have investable assets of more than £1m.

Of the survey, Nigel Green, deVere’s founder and chief executive, observes: “Interestingly, there are minimal differences between the top five most common investment mistakes previously made by high-net-worth individuals. This close weighting could suggest that, according to the respondents, all of them are almost equally as significant and costly – and therefore must be avoided.”

On the breakdown of the poll, he continues: “As the survey highlights, failure to diversify a portfolio is widely regarded as one of the most common investment pitfalls.  Spreading your money around is a vital tool to manage risk.  However, it must be used correctly. Diversification will only add real value if the new asset has a different risk profile.

“The poll underscores how 22 per cent of today’s millionaires have also in the past fallen into the all-too-familiar trap of randomly investing, or investing without a structured, robust plan. Anyone who has an investment plan can expect their portfolio to outperform those without a plan.  To my mind, unless you have a sound investment plan you are gambling, not investing.”

“Most decisions in life are emotional to some degree but making excessively emotional decisions can prove deadly when it comes to investments because they are blighted by prejudices and biases.  Working with an independent financial adviser is one recommended way to help take excessive emotion out of the equation.”

“16 per cent of respondents cited that failure to review their portfolio on a regular basis was their number one investment mistake. This is not surprising as even the best portfolios can go off-target over time.  Investments need to be reviewed and potentially rebalanced at least annually, preferably more often, to ensure they still deserve their place in the portfolio and that they are still on track to reach your long-term financial objectives.”

“Additionally, high-net-worth individuals told us that they have in the past been caught out by relying too much on historical returns and not giving enough importance to future expectations.  The future investment situation is likely to be different from time-aged averages.  Past averages may have little bearing on the current environment and therefore the actual returns you receive.”

deVere Group’s CEO concludes: “Mistakes investing can and do occur – it is how they are best avoided, or at least mitigated, that is the key to success. Learning lessons from people, like those we polled, who have overcome these common investment mistakes to go on to accumulate significant wealth in the longer-term is a way to reduce costly errors.

Due to the complexities of investing and the potentially devastating effects of committing expensive avoidable errors, the best thing to do is to seek advice from a professional independent financial adviser who will help circumnavigate the common and not-so-common pitfalls. Avoiding just one of these mistakes – and there are many others – can literally make the difference between poverty and financial freedom, says Green.

Growing Hardy Inflation Hedges With Natural Resource Equities

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Cómo protegerse en las carteras de la subida de precios con bonos ligados a la inflación
Foto: Historias Visuales, Flickr, Creative Commons. Cómo protegerse en las carteras de la subida de precios con bonos ligados a la inflación

The era of easy money in the U.S. is coming to an end. The Federal Reserve has cut its quantitative easing (QE) program of bond purchases by $10 billion at each of its last three meetings. The current pace of tapering suggests that QE will reach zero in just a few more months and some observers even expect the fed funds rate to rise in the spring of 2015.

According to Robin Wehbé, Portfolio Manager of Global Natural Resources at The Boston Company AM (part of BNY Mellon), this combination of events reinforces his belief that interest rates bottomed last summer, as investors reacted to the planned reduction of QE measures worldwide. “Years of QE have lulled many investors into complacency about the central bank’s actions, but Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s comments indicate that a rate hike is less than a year away. Those comments are feeding fears of impending inflation as the effect of QE shifts from providing stimulus to creating excess liquidity”.

Higher rates point to a strengthening U.S. dollar, which will effectively export inflationary pressures throughout the world. Most of the world’s commodities— not to mention many other goods and services—remain priced in U.S. dollars. If a relatively healthy economic outlook prompts U.S. rates to rise more quickly, the dollar will strengthen against other currencies and exacerbate those inflationary pressures.

This dynamic will be most apparent in countries with current account deficits, and it has been blamed for much of the sell- off in emerging-market equities during the past year.

Not surprisingly, investors are seeking ways to hedge their portfolios against this likely rise of inflation. Commodities are typically the first tools they reach for. Many investors believe that hard assets such as oil and gold outperform traditional securities such as stocks and bonds in times of high inflation. However, this is not necessarily the case. “We believe that their relative performance shows that natural resource equities are better at hedging inflation than commodities”.

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This chart shows how the Standard & Poor’s 500, natural resource equities and commodities (as defined by the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index) performed across various inflationary regimes. Equities are the clear outperformers in times of low to moderate inflation. But as inflation begins to rise, natural resource equity returns catch up to and eventually overtake the broader stock market. Meanwhile, commodities tend to lag both categories of equities in almost every inflationary regime, only outperforming the S&P 500 in times of very high inflation.

This is because of the nature of commodities. They have an expected return of zero because any new investment return opportunities are eventually competed away and no competitive advantage exists. Equities have a positive expected return because company managements invest above their costs of capital to drive profits, which broadly translates as an equity risk premium.

The rolling three-year returns of the CRB index have oscillated wildly above and below the rate of inflation over the past 40 years. By contrast, natural resource equities have a built-in equity-risk premium that has allowed them to outperform commodities over a full risk cycle. “We cannot posit a direct correlation between commodity returns and inflation, as the chart shows they do not appear to closely track U.S. inflation levels”.

Commodities’ low correlation to equities means that holding them theoretically makes sense as a means to diversify a portfolio. But such diversification may come at a steep price if stocks continue rising. In next chart, the colored lines track the performance of the S&P 500 and the CRB Index during equity rallies, and commodity markets usually underperform in most instances we have tracked since 1965. Only twice in this time period have commodities kept pace with equities. The first time was from 1972 to 1978, which coincided with the supply shock of the global oil crisis. The second instance was the period from 1999 to 2002 when China’s boom spurred a surge in demand for commodities. Both events were outliers that dramatically reshaped the supply/demand dynamicfor commodities.

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“Diversification is a key objective of most investors’ portfolio- construction process, but we believe commodities are not the best way to achieve it. Consider the concept of the efficient frontier, which maps out the optimal investment opportunity set based on expected returns and risk levels. The CRB Index representing commodities is far from the efficient frontier, indicating that commodities do not provide sufficient expected return to compensate for the level of risk they pose. On the other hand, equities are above and to theright of commodities on the chart, which represents more risk, but also higher expected returns”.

“As the economy strengthens and interest rates rise, savvy investors will plan ahead for inflation and position their portfolios accordingly. We believe they should consider natural resource equities as part of their hedging strategies, given their compelling historical relative performance and attractive risk/reward proposition, particularly compared to that of commodities”.

Goldman Sachs Head of Latin America Named New Chief Strategy Officer

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Goldman Sachs nombra a su responsable de Latinoamérica nuevo estratega jefe del grupo
CC-BY-SA-2.0, Flickr. Goldman Sachs Head of Latin America Named New Chief Strategy Officer

Goldman Sachs named a new chief strategy officer on Monday, replacing an executive (Andrew A. Chisholm) who had worked at the firm for nearly 30 years and is retiring at the end of the year. Taking the reins at the new position is Stephen M. Scherr, who is the head of the firm’s financing group, according to firm memos reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Scherr, who will maintain his position as head of Latin America, a role he assumed in 2011, will work across the firm to develop and drive important growth initiatives as part of the firm’s global strategy. Such opportunities may include developing a more profitable private wealth-management business, or possibly using technology to develop and build new trading platforms.

“As a long-tenured leader in the Investment Banking Division (IBD), and as global head of the Financing Group since 2008, Stephen has a deep understanding of all of our businesses and of the needs of our clients,” Mr. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn, the firm’s president, wrote in an internal memo. “As we advance the firm’s global strategy, Stephen will identify and help execute on opportunities to grow and build upon our strong client franchise across our core businesses.”

Stephen will help to coordinate the lending business as Goldman leverages its existing bank platform to provide credit to both corporate and individual clients, said Golman in the memos.

Stephen previously served as chief operating officer of the Telecom, Media and Technology Group, chief operating officer for IBD and head of the Americas Financing Group. He was named managing director in 2001 and partner in 2002. Stephen became a member of the Management Committee in 2012. He will continue to serve as a member of the Risk Committee, Firmwide Capital Committee and the Growth Markets Operating Committee.

Mr. Chisholm joined the firm in 1985 in New York as a mergers-and-acquisitions banker and also worked in London. He was made managing director in 1996 and partner in 1998. He became senior strategy officer in 2012 after running the financial-institutions group since 2003, a group he helped create, according to the memo.

Goldman also announced Monday that Jim Esposito and Marc Nachmann will succeed Mr. Scherr and become co-heads of the global financing group. Mr. Esposito was most recently head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa financing group. Mr. Nachmann was most recently co-head of the global natural-resources business, according to a memo sent out by the firm.

Succeeding Mr. Nachmann atop the global natural resources team are Gonzalo Garcia and Suhail Sikhtian as co-heads. Brett Olsher will also become co-chairman of the group, alongside John Vaske.

Wealth & Pension Services Group Announces Expansion into Florida

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Wealth & Pension Services Group, based in Atlanta, GA, has brought on its first group member in the state of Florida. James Larson II, Certified Fund Specialist, was formerly a Vice President of Investments with The Mutual Fund Store. Jim will now head up the newest office for Wealth & Pension Services Group in south Florida near the West Palm Beach area. “Jim has a great depth of experience, and we are excited to have him join our team,” William Kring, President of Wealth & Pension Services Group.

William Kring adds, “We have been looking at Florida for some time, seeking an advisor that matches our philosophy of providing excellent client service, trusted advice and a high level of expertise. With the addition of Jim, we can continue to build our services footprint in areas that naturally fit our client residences and lifestyle.” 

Jim Larson adds, “I am really pleased to join a proven team of financial experts at a firm where the client’s needs are truly priority number one.  The comprehensive wealth management approach that Wealth & Pension Services Group is recognized for will be a very welcome addition to the financial planning needs of the south Florida marketplace.”     

Wealth & Pension Services Group is a leader in wealth management and 401k plans in the Atlanta area and southeast. Value-added offerings include their Guardrail Growth Investment strategies for individuals, institutions and 401k plans, Financial View 360 – a one source, up-to date financial hub to organize client investments, banking and other financial data, and FRAME – a Fiduciary Readiness and Management Enhancement process for 401k plans. The firm custodies assets at leading institutions including NFS, TradePMR and TD Ameritrade Institutional.

DeA&WM and LA-based Ivory IM Launch New UCITS Fund

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Renta variable: catalizador de la rentabilidad
Foto: Cheezepie, Flickr, Creative Commons. Renta variable: catalizador de la rentabilidad

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and Ivory Investment Management, have announced the launch of the UCITS compliant DB Platinum Ivory Optimal Fund on Deutsche Bank’s UCITS platform. The fund, currently at $130 million, will be managed by Curtis Macnguyen, founder and Head Portfolio Manager of Ivory.

Ivory IM is a research-intensive, fundamental value-based investment firm founded by Curtis Macnguyen in 1998. Ivory’s investment strategy is to deliver superior, risk-adjusted returns with low correlation to market indices, while protecting capital in all market conditions. Ivory seeks to take long and short positions primarily in equity securities of publicly traded companies. Ivory emphasizes superior security selection over broad market exposure and combines bottom-up, value-based investments with a proprietary spread risk management system that significantly reduces volatility. Ivory manages over $2 billion in equity strategies and is based in Los Angeles. Prior to Ivory, Curtis Macnguyen was a partner at Siegler, Collery & Co.

Commenting on the launch, Tarun Nagpal, Head of DeAWM’s Alternative & Fund Solutions group for Europe and Asia, said: “This fund is an important addition to our range of UCITS products. We are pleased to have attracted such strong investor demand and oversubscription for this new product prior to launch. The fund provides a compelling opportunity to gain exposure to US equity markets, a key current investment theme for many of our clients.”

Curtis Macnguyen, Head Portfolio Manager of Ivory said: “We are excited to be working with Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management on the launch of the DB Platinum Ivory Optimal Fund. We are seeing significant interest from investors globally and this UCITS fund allows Ivory to offer our investment strategy to a larger and more diverse investor base.”

Bank Leumi USA Opens New Commercial and Private Banking Office in Los Angeles

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Bank Leumi estrena nueva oficina en Los Ángeles, en donde aglutina tres sucursales
Photo: Thomas Pintaric. Bank Leumi USA Opens New Commercial and Private Banking Office in Los Angeles

Bank Leumi USA announced the opening of its new branch office in downtown Los Angeles on June 2, 2014 at 555 West Fifth Street, 33rd floor. Bringing the bank’s three LA area branches into a single location will provide more efficient, client-focused service to ensure that client needs are met.

For nearly 40 years, Bank Leumi USA has served the Los Angeles community with branches in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Encino. By moving to a single new location, the bank will strengthen its resources and teams to provide holistic banking and investing services to its commercial and private banking clients.

“We are proud to build on our decades of service to the Los Angeles community with our new office,” says Avner Mendelson, President and CEO of Bank Leumi USA. “Bringing our teams together in one location reinforces the services our clients rely on, and offers the support our customers – and prospective customers – need in their business and investments today.”

The new branch office will benefit clients through expanded commercial business services in key areas, such as Healthcare, Commercial Real Estate, Apparel, Technology and more. Similarly, private banking clients will benefit from innovative solutions and broker-dealer services through Leumi Investment Services Inc. (LISI).