Kathryn von Matthiessen. Foto cedida por Cantor & Webb. Cantor & Webb incorpora nueva socia al equipo de Miami ante el aumento de clientes
Miami-based attorneys Cantor & Webb have strengthened their tax and estate planning team, expanding for a sixth consecutive year with the addition of new trusts and estates partner, Kathryn von Matthiessen.
Von Matthiessen, who relocated her practice from New York to join Cantor & Webb P.A., brings more than fifteen years of experience in the field of international estate planning, both inbound and outbound. Her practice will focus primarily on sophisticated personal and estate planning for high net worth individuals and the administration of complex estates and trusts, including advising international trust companies on reporting obligations concerning U.S. matters.
“I have joined Cantor & Webb P.A. because of their excellent reputation among clients and my peers. Driven by the complexity of US reporting obligations and the global reach of an IRS newly armed with FATCA and extensive information exchange powers, there is also a demand for international wealth structuring from Miami is greater than ever, and now extends far beyond traditional Latin markets”, said Von Matthiessen.
This announcement complements a string of initiatives by the firm, which has expanded for a sixth consecutive year after seeing a substantial increase in client engagements. “This major hire was driven by client demand for our services and helps cement our standing as experts in complex global wealth structuring. More broadly, it shows that Miami is a dynamic center which attracts heavyweight legal talent and is more than capable of competing with other US cities for international clients,” said Managing Partner, Steven Cantor.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Gordon Joly. HSBC vende su negocio de banca privada en Luxemburgo a VP Bank
HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (International) and HSBC Trinkaus Investment Managers, wholly owned Luxembourg subsidiaries of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, have entered into an agreement to sell their private banking activities and private banking-related fund business respectively, to VP Bank (Luxembourg) and VPB Finance, which are members of the VP Bank Group. The parent company of the VP Bank Group is Verwaltungs-und Privat-Bank Aktiengesellschaft which is based in Liechtenstein.
At 30 June 2013 the private banking activities to be sold had assets under management of approximately €1.5bn (US$2.0bn) and the private banking-related fund business had assets under administration of approximately €0.7bn (US$0.9bn). Approximately 20 employees working for the private banking business of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt are expected to transfer to VP Bank as part of the sale.
The transaction is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2013.
HSBC Trinkaus is a commercial bank which draws on its tradition of over 228 years as a trusted advisor to its clients. As one of the country’s leading banks, it is also part of the HSBC Group, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. The strength of the bank is its international connectivity. This is characterised by its detailed knowledge of the international markets, mainly the emerging markets, and its global network. Germany is one of the HSBC Group’s priority growth markets.
Foto cedidaRobeco Chief Strategist Ronald Doeswijk. Tectonic shifts in the world economy
RobecoChief Strategist Ronald Doeswijk, thinks they probably have and that “Fed tapering is less imminent than the market expects”. With the PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, still hovering around 1% and a hefty downward revision for Q1 GDP (from 2.4% to 1.8%), tightening doesn’t really seem to be just around the corner. This notwithstanding, and despite Mr. Bernanke’s assurances that policy is data-dependent, as Doeswijk put it “the tightening consequences of his remarks were felt worldwide”.
But for Doeswijk, the key question is whether the US economy is strong enough to cope with tightening, especially in the light of what he terms the “fragile global environment”.
Japan – bright spot in the Pacific? The Japanese economy continues to look positive. The Q2 tankan shows what Doeswijk refers to as “a clear improvement in business sentiment among major manufacturers” and this is supported by expectations for strong Q2 economic growth.
The yen has continued to weaken against the dollar, breaking the psychological 100-level at the end of June. Although bond market volatility has increased, 10-year yields are still hovering below 0.9%.
Europe – signs of stabilization do not extend to the periphery The euro zone is showing what Ronald Doeswijk terms “new signs of stabilization” with the composite PMI showing a slower rate of shrinkage (48.7).
Even such tentative signs of a pick-up should be enough to deter the ECB from further easing – especially with the uptick in headline inflation to 1.6% and the rising oil price.
Political tension is increasing in Southern Europe – the weakened Greek government is encountering difficulties in fulfilling the troika’s demands, while in Portugal the Prime Minister is attempting to avoid early elections.
The calm in the European bond markets is “fragile” according to Doeswijk, who does not expect the ECB to rush to bail out euro-zone sovereigns in trouble.
Equities – set to move higher Despite market fears resulting from recent Fed’s statements that have stopped equity market rallies in their tracks, Ronald Doeswijk maintains a ‘positive view’ and sees room for equities to move higher.
The US market has proved most resilient in the recent market turbulence and remains the favorite. The Fed is overly optimistic on growth prospects according to Doeswijk, who continues to favor risky assets and does not expect “the removal of excess liquidity through Fed tapering” until Q4 2013.
His preference is for defensive sectors in the current scenario, where more pessimistic or ‘risk-off’ sentiment still prevails.
BoJ offers shot in the arm for real estate The outlook for real estate remains positive. In Japan, the BoJ has also targeted real-estate funds in its QE agenda, which “makes investors less nervous about overstretched valuations”, says Doeswijk. Dividends remain attractive and Doeswijk expects the recent interest rate rise to “moderate”, lessening the impact of interest rate sensitivity on this asset class.
“US economy not expected to accelerate in Q3, but to see moderate growth”
Emerging markets – sentiment has turned sour EMD has suffered a double whammy of widening spreads and ongoing EM currency depreciation against the dollar, which has caused Doeswijk and his team to reduce their outlook to neutral for this asset class.
Risk in the form of Fed tapering fears compounded by heightened political tension in a number of major emerging markets (Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Egypt) means that the trend of wider spreads and currency volatility is set to continue.
From an emerging market equity perspective, things are not much better with weaker underlying economic fundamentals, structural problems – like those in India, and subdued growth.
Chinese authorities have bitten the bullet, allowing interbank rates to skyrocket and seem to be more concerned about tackling the shadow banking system and discouraging speculation than in achieving what is becoming an increasingly ambitious 2013 growth target of 7.5%.
Recent sell-off enhances appeal of High Yield Chief strategist Doeswijk’s preference for High Yield has increased in the light of last month’s sell-off during which HY declined by 3.2%. With attractive running yields, a favorable interest-rate environment and default rates below historical averages, Doeswijk expects these issues to rebound. He also notes that covenant lite issuance, which has reached an all-time high, should not be a cause for concern as most is used for refinancing and not, as in the past, with the more risky objective of financing leveraged buy-outs.
Government bonds least attractive asset category A further rise in global yields is not likely, after bond markets reacted negatively to the news that the Fed might taper its bond purchases. Still, Doeswijk thinks government bonds remain the least attractive asset category: “We expect riskier assets to outperform government bonds”.
Daniel Eustaquio, nuevo responsable de deuda emergente en moneda fuerte de ING IM. ING IM appoints Daniel Eustaquio as Senior Portfolio Manager to EMD team
ING Investment Management has announced additional senior appointments to its Emerging Market Debt (EMD) team.
Daniel Eustaquio joins the company as Senior Portfolio Manager Hard Currency based in Atlanta, USA as per 22nd July 2013.
Daniel has more than 15 years’ experience in EMD Fixed Income markets and joins ING IM from Oppenheimer & Co where he was Director of Investments, EMD FI Sales. He previously worked at ING IM US as part of the EMD team from 1998-2009.
Hans Stoter, CIO ING Investment Management:“We are very pleased to welcome Daniel to ING IM. He has a long track record in managing Emerging Market Debt portfolios and will therefore strengthen the capabilities of our EMD team”
Besides the recruitment of one additional senior portfolio manager, ING IM has further expanded the EMD team by recruiting 3 senior dedicated EMD corporate analysts. Patricia Medina joined the Atlanta office and Jasmine Li and Shilpa Singhal joined the Singapore office.
With these additions the dedicated EMD corporate analysts team now consists of 6 professionals.
Hans Stoter: “Reiterating our ambition to have a top notch EMD team back in place, the recruitment of 3 experienced corporate analysts has further strengthened the EM corporate capabilities of our team.”
ING Investment Managers ha contratado a Daniel Eustaquio como manager senior responsable de deuda en divisa fuertepara su unidad de renta fija emergente (EMD), continuando con su proceso de fortalecimiento de este equipo de inversión.
Desde que a primeros de año, ING IM sufriera la salida de parte importante de este equipo, clave para la casa, con destino a Neuberger Berman, ING IM reaccionó con contrataciones de calado que incluyen la incorporación de Jerry Brewin como director de EMD en junio de 2013, proveniente de Aviva Investors. Daniel Eustaquio viene de Oppenheimer & Co donde trabajaba como director de inversiones para EMD y va a incorporarse a la sede de ING IM en Atlanta el 22 de julio, Georgia. Eustaquio ya había trabajado para ING IM en su división americana de deuda emergente entre 1998 y 2009.
ING IM también ha informado de la contratación de tres analistas senior de deuda corporativa emergente. Patricia Medina se unirá a la oficina de Atlanta, mientras Jasmine Li y Shilpa Singhal trabajarán en ING IM en Singapur. Con estas nuevas incorporaciones el equipo de analistas de crédito de ING IM suma 6 miembros.
Hans Stoter, director de inversiones de ING IM, señalaba que estas contrataciones se enmarcan en su “ambición de tener un equipo de deuda emergente de primera clase de nuevo en funcionamiento”.
Imagen de sátelite de Europa (Foto: NASA). Guggenheim nombra a Tyler Page director de Soluciones de hedge fund para Europa
Guggenheim Partners announced that Tyler Page, Global Head of Business Development for Guggenheim Fund Solutions, has become Head of Hedge Fund Solutions for Europe based in London.
Prior to this appointment as Head of Hedge Fund Solutions for Europe, Mr. Page led marketing efforts resulting in several billion dollars of commitments to the Guggenheim hedge fund managed account platform. “We are growing our business rapidly throughout Europe as institutional investors seek to improve the quality and transparency of the hedge fund reporting they receive, address a shifting regulatory environment and improve their own risk management,” said Mr. Page.
“European institutions have expressed a strong interest in our capability to oversee, monitor and report on their hedge fund portfolios, and we believe Tyler’s proven ability to deliver innovative solutions will add significantly to our continuing European expansion,” added Ajay Chitkara, Senior Managing Director of Guggenheim Fund Solutions.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Page held senior-level positions at various investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. He began his career as an attorney focusing on derivatives with Davis Polk & Wardwell. Throughout his career, he has worked on a wide range of bespoke investment solutions for both institutional and private clients.
Guggenheim Partners is a privately held global financial services firm with more than $180 billion in assets under management. The firm provides asset management, investment banking and capital markets services, insurance services, institutional finance and investment advisory solutions to institutions, governments and agencies, corporations, investment advisors, family offices and individuals. Guggenheim Partners is headquartered in New York and Chicago and serves clients around the world from more than 26 offices in eight countries.
. Banco Santander Continues to Progress in Its Return to Colombia
As reported this week by Colombian newspaper, La República Banco Santander recently requested authorization from the Colombian authorities to re-operate as a bank in the country, an announcement which has been a surprise to many, as the Spanish bank sold its local assets to Chilean bank CorpBanca, just eighteen months ago, explaining that it would concentrate its operations in those places which were reporting better results.
The Colombian Financial Superintendence authorized the Spanish institution to establish the bank, which would in this way seek to restore its place in the country’s financial market. According to La Republica, the Spanish company’s strategy would focus on recapturing large clientsand on reappointing the principal managers who were responsible for managing the largest accounts, something which Santander already seems to be doing. According to sources familiar with the transaction, the bank “is hiring former employees, which means their clients will follow.”
Daniel Lozano, director of Serfinco Economic Studies, sees the return of Santander as proof that foreign companies continue to see the local banking system as highly attractive, which highlights that there is plenty of room still available within the sector.
The low level of financial access and high intermediation margins are some of the opportunities which Colombia offers, and would be precisely what Santander, which during its earlier stage grew in line with its objectives, is looking for. However, firstly the Colombian crisis of 1999 and later, the Spanish banking problems in the current European crisis, slowed Santander’s pretensions, forcing it to exit the industry in Colombia.
Santander returns with capital stock of 90.5 billion Colombian pesos and, in accordance with the institution’s composition, Santander LatAm Banks Administration (Ablasa), the subsidiary that manages Santander Group’s operations in the region, holds 94.8% equity interest, while Santusa Holding, a company which administers securities of Spanish banks, will hold 5.1% of the total. The rest is owned by Jaime Romagosa Soler, Juan Carlos Moscote Gneco and Henry Forero Ramírez with 0.002% each.
However, even though it has already received authorization, there are still a few registration steps missing, so Santander‘s return will still take some time.
. Banca March and Andbank Give Another Twist to the Sale of Inversis
One of the most complicated operations which have been seen recently in the Spanish financial market has taken another twist. After an unexpected move by Banca March, one of Inversis’ shareholders, Andbank will finally be taking over Inversis’ private retail banking business, instead of Andorra Private Banking, through Banco de Madrid. Meanwhile, Banca March will take over Inversis’ technology platform, but will later sell 50% to the Portuguese group, Orey Antunes. Likewise, Andbank will become a technological client of Inversis.
According to a statement submitted to the CNMV, Banca March has used its rights of first refusal on the sale of Banco Inversis, whose bid had been won by Andorra Private Banking through Banco de Madrid, by offering 212 million Euros on June 28th. Shareholders representing more than 92% of the offer, including Bankia, Sabadell and CajaMar had accepted this offer. Banca March has decided to “exercise its preemptive right of acquisition on the sale of Banco Inversis SA to ensure and maintain the quality of service to its clients and to develop its institutional business, both within Spain and in its international expansion.”
Banca March will pay 217.4 million Euros for Inversis, and will then sell Inversis’ private retail banking business to Andbank for 179.8 million Euros. The difference, which is just under 38 million Euros, will be what Banca March will pay for Inversis’ technology platform. This agreement will become effective “once all necessary corporate transactions have been completed and all authorizations have been received.”
Also, once the segregation of its retail banking business is carried out, Banca March will sell a 50% share of Banco Inversis to the Portuguese Group Orey Antunes, subject to the relevant approvals, “in order to continue to invest jointly in the development of the technology platform and to continue to promote institutional business on a national and international level.” The price of this last sale has not been revealed.
BPA’s reaction is as yet unknown; it had increased its bid on Inversis twice over the past few months to beat Andbank. In any case, the price Andabank will have to pay, which equals BPA’s previous offer, is no bargain, according to industry sources. “Especially considering they will not acquire the technology platform,” the expert concluded.
El mercado de commodities disminuyó en junio debido a que la incertidumbre sobre la recuperación económica global sigue siendo alta, de acuerdo a un análisis de Credit Suisse.
En este sentido, Nelson Louie, responsable global de Commodities en Credit Suisse Asset Management dijo que las noticias macroeconómicas que llegaron de China en junio pesaron sobre el mercado de commodities. “Con Chinaactualmenteregistrando un ritmode crecimiento más moderadoy modesto y con una mejora modesta en otros lugares,lo más probable esque las divergenciasde suministroestán jugando unpapel cada vez más protagonista enun momento en quelamayor correlaciónobservada entreotras clases de activosy los productos básicosdesde 2008ha comenzadoa normalizarse.Dentro de la tendenciaactual,el ritmo decrecimiento de la ofertaesprobable que siga siendoel factor claveen el impulso derendimientosen commodities“, subrayó.
El Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return descendió 4.71% en junio. En total,15 de los22componentesdel índiceregistraron resultadosnegativos.El sector de los metales preciososfue elsectorque peor desempeño registró,que bajó un12,27% ante los persistentes temoressobre el plan de la Fed de acabar con su programa deestímulo monetarioyel rallydel dólar.
En cuanto a los metalesindustriales, estos disminuyeron7.11%, tal y como mostró un estudio sobrela actividad manufacturera en China, que se debilitó aun mínimo de nuevemesesen junioya que la demandase tambaleó.En este sentido, Credit Suisse subraya que estas cifras pueden aumentar la presión sobre el Banco Central chino para que afloje su política.
En cuanto a la agricultura, junio fue el mes más bajo, por debajo del 4,16% debido a una presión mayor de mayores existencias de maíz, mayores de las esperadas, y los datos adicionales que muestran mayores zonas de cultivo plantadas a pesar de los retrasos de plantación por problemas relacionados con las temperaturas. Las noticias de que la producción de trigo en Australia aumentó un 15% respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior se sumó también a las preocupaciones sobre los suministros mundiales más grandes. Australia es uno de los mayores exportadores mundiales de trigo.
La energía disminuyó un 2,55%, liderado por gas natural, tras las mayores inyecciones de almacenamiento, según lo informado por la Administración de Energía estadounidense. La ganadería registró el mejor desempeño del sector, que subió un 3,10%.
Imagen de un antiguo anuncio. La HFA aplaude la decisión de la SEC de suprimir las trabas a la publicidad para hedge funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission has now adopted final rules in connection with the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, lifting an 80 year old ban on general solicitation and allowing hedge fund managers to advertise. The Hedge Fund Association (HFA) and its members throughout the United States applaud the SEC’s decision as a necessary modernization of the securities laws.
Fundamentally, we believe that these new rules will: (i) increase public transparency regarding the alternative investment industry, including hedge funds; and (ii) facilitate capital formation and ultimately enhance the capital markets. Though the HFA views this development as generally positive, we await publication of the new rules to determine whether particular requirements impose an unnecessary burden on our members. We are in the process of reviewing the text of the final rules, as well as gathering feedback from our members, at which time we will provide a more comprehensive commentary on behalf of the hedge fund industry. The HFA previously provided valuable comments to and materially influenced relevant provisions of The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The Hedge Fund Association is an international not-for-profit organization made up of hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, family offices, high-net-worth individuals and service providers. In the U.S., the HFA has chapters in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and on the West Coast. Internationally, the HFA has chapters in Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America and the Cayman Islands. HFA works on behalf of the entire hedge fund industry, including more than 9,500 hedge funds in the U.S. and abroad which collectively manage in excess of $2 trillion in assets, as well as sophisticated investors and industry service providers.
Foto: WPPilot. Pimco Total Return sufre reembolsos de 9.600 millones en junio
Morningstar reported today estimated U.S. mutual fund asset flows for June 2013. Investors withdrew $43.8 billion from taxable-bond funds and $16.4 billion from municipal-bond funds, making June the worst month on record for bond funds in terms of total outflows. Long-term funds overall shed $47.3 billion, the largest monthly outflow since $105.6 billion in October 2008
Additional highlights from Morningstar’s report on mutual fund flows:
Intermediate-term bond funds lost $24.4 billion in June, dragged down by outflows of $9.6 billion from PIMCO Total Return. DoubleLine Total Return saw redemptions of $1.2 billion, its first monthly outflow. Other weak-performing bond categories included long government, emerging-markets bond, and inflation-protected bond.
Not all fixed-income categories suffered in June and the year-to-date period. Bank-loan funds have collected more assets than any other category in 2013, and nontraditional bond has come in third.
International-equity and alternative funds had net inflows in June. Among international-equity funds, Oakmark International, which has a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Gold, continued its string of strong inflows, collecting $753 million. The fund has doubled in size in the last year, absorbing nearly $5.0 billion and achieving a 35 percent return year to date.
At the firm level, PIMCO led outflows, with redemptions of $14.5 billion, followed by Fidelity with $5.1 billion. Vanguard saw its first firm-level outflows (including exchanged-traded and money market funds) in nearly 20 years. MFS topped all providers with inflows of $1.4 billion.
