Credit Suisse today announced the launch of two new commodity index ETNs which are listed under the ticker symbols “CSCB” and “CSCR” and began trading on the NYSE ARCA this morning. CSCB is the first exchange traded product in the US market to offer investors access to the Credit Suisse Commodity Benchmark Total Return Index. CSCR is the first exchange traded product in the US market to offer investors exposure to the Credit Suisse Backwardation Total Return Index.
The Credit Suisse Commodity Benchmark Total Return Index underlying the CSCB ETN is a long-only diversified commodity benchmark index composed of notional futures contracts on 34 physical commodities (as of the 2013 annual rebalance). The index seeks to provide wider diversification and closer reflection of the overall global commodity complex than existing commodity indices. The index features an extended roll period of 15 days per month. The index also invests in contracts that expire between one to three months (where available), spreading exposure across multiple delivery periods, versus the more traditional front-month contract only investment.
The Credit Suisse Commodity Backwardation Index, underlying the CSCR ETN, is a long-only diversified commodity index composed of single-commodity indices that follows a rules-based strategy to select eight commodities based on the price of the commodity futures contracts of various terms. The index measures the level of backwardation (where the prices of futures contracts nearer to expiration are higher than prices of futures contracts with longer to expiration) or contango (where the prices of futures contracts nearer to expiration are lower than prices of futures contracts with longer to expiration) between two observation points on the curve (month 1 and, generally, month 6). Each month, the Index takes a notional weighted long position in eight single-commodity sub-indices from a universe of 24 eligible sub-indices.
Mark Harvey, global head of commodities structuring for Credit Suisse commented, “The Credit Suisse Commodity Benchmark Total Return Index updates a physical commodity futures index originally formulated in 1975 by commodities expert Bob Greer and first published in 1978. We have retained the key aspects of that index – including rebalancing, multi-period exposure and weighting methodology – to create an updated robust benchmark for the performance of the current global commodities markets.”
Foto cedidaFoto: Richard Speetjens. Darwin in the Digital Age: Robeco Consumer Trends
Back from a long weekend and about to board the plane, my husband commented … “Apple and Samsung have their days numbered”, “Say what?” I said, a little annoyed because I just got hold of the last iPhone model. “They don’t offer any added value, all smartphones are equal.”
I did not give that comment any further thought until a few days later, when Richard Speetjens, co-manager of Robeco Global Consumer Trends Equities Fund, explained a very similar concept. “In 2013, within our Digital World trend, we have greatly reduced our exposure to semiconductor manufacturers and other manufacturers of hardware for mobile devices.” While consumer secular change into the digital age is still one of the strongest thematic pillars of this fund, Speetjens notes that “60% of users already have a smartphone, and Apple and Samsung have taken the bulk of these purchases, but now low cost Chinese competitors with lower margins are entering the market.” Darwin has entered fully into the digital age.
In fact, the fund sold its entire position in Apple and AMR Holdings and has reduced its exposure to Samsung.“We’ve reassigned these positions to internet companies with a good strategy for mobile devices like Google, LinkedIn, eBay, TripAdvisor, Amazon, Yelp or MercadoLibre, one of our two only positions in Latin American companies,” the manager added.
The Robeco Consumer Trends fund, with about $850 million in assets under management, explores the trends which will shape consumption over the next five to ten years, investing in global companies exposed to these themes. “They must be global trends with consistent growth prospects over 5-10 years,” says Speetjens adding that “it is just as important to select good consumer trends as it is to select the individual companies which will represent these trends in the portfolio.”
The fund’s second major trend is consumption in emerging markets, both on the theme of consumption of luxury goods, “where we have remained stable in recent months,” as in the basic needs “where we had a strong bias towards Chinese consumers which we have recently diversified by investing in consumer companies exposed to Brazil, Indonesia and Russia. “One example is the Brazilian department store Lojas Renner, “very competitive, benefitting from the increased middle class in Brazil,” said Speetjens.
The fund’s third consumption trend focuses on the big brands; Speetjens explains that “generally these allow us to balance the risk that comes from the digital and the emerging consumer themes.” This year the strategy has added positions in Estée Lauder and Coca Cola, “two major brands with very reasonable rates and unappreciated right now.” The fund will typically hold between 35% and 40% in these “big names” of the consumer sector.
Foto cedidaGeorge Crosby, nuevo presidente de FIBA. FIBA elige nueva Junta Directiva, encabezada por George Crosby de HSBC
FIBA, a global trade association whose membership includes most of the largest financial institutions in the world who are active in correspondent banking, trade finance and international wealth management/private banking services, has elected its new Board of Directors to be headed by President-elect George de F. Crosby. Mr. Crosby will serve during the 2013-2014 fiscal year and has served as First Vice President of FIBA for the past year as well as chaired the Wealth Management Committee for the past 8 years. He will take office on July 1st for a one-year-term, succeeding Grisel Vega of Bci Miami Branch.
Mr. Crosby is a Managing Director and Group Head for Brazil at HSBC Private Bank International overseeing a team of bankers in Miami and New York. He is responsible for developing the Brazilian market strategy for the U.S. and is part of the Brazil Global Market Management team. Mr. Crosby is on the Board of HSBC Private Bank International in Miami.
Several areas contribute to the success of this forum, foremost of which are the constituency of it membership comprised due to the bankers, brokers, financial industry attorneys, accountants and consultants in the hemisphere. During his term, he will aim to achieve important goals focusing on four key areas:
FIBA Wealth Management Forum in September 16-17. A recent study showed that Miami is one of the top ten cities for global wealth management in the world. And with this in mind, FIBA is the right organization to showcase the future of our wealth management industry by hosting the first annual FIBA Wealth Management Forum in September.
The new FIBA Private Banking and Wealth Management Series. This initiative is lead by FIBA and the Private Banking Committee and the intention is to bring together not only bankers but also brokers and other practitioners. We focus on education, best practices and networking as these are all keys to sustaining our business.
Advocacy. FIBA has successfully taken important steps forward to have our voice heard in Washington and Tallahassee and we are recognized as the voice of the industry on international banking issues. The importance of working closely with the regulators for the benefit of our industry continues to be a key priority for us. With this, FIBA will maintain open lines of communication between the private and public sectors.
Preparing the next generation of banking leaders. FIBA’s role in providing relevant training programs and networking to ensure that we strengthen our next generation’s skills and vision is a key. This initiative is being well executed by the FIBA Young Professionals Committee through programs and after work happy hour activities. Few organizations offer their members so much in terms of information and knowledge sharing opportunities.
by Asy arch at en.wikipedia. A tool that extracts the market "signal" from the social media "noise" for investors
Market Prophit has announced the official launch of its website with the goal of providing retail and institutional investors with a real-time, sentiment analysis tool for financial market conversations in social media.
Market Prophit extracts the market “signal” from the social media “noise” using sophisticated natural language processing techniques and predictive analytics. The algorithms automatically interpret and quantify large quantities of unstructured conversations to deliver sentiment signals to investors.
“As the volume of on-line conversation about financial markets continues to grow at a massive pace, it is getting much harder for investors to keep up with and interpret all of this information;especially in real-time. We believe that sentiment and market mood can have an effect on financial markets so we provide an easy-to-use tool that quickly delivers the “pulse” on the market to you”, highlights the firm in its press release. The tool is designed for self-directed retail investors, day-traders, hedge fund portfolio managers, research analysts, or anyone interested in getting the current crowd-sourced buzz on the market.
Market Prophit is a financial big data company focused on analyzing market-related conversations in social media and providing real-time sentiment signals to both retail and institutional clients.
Wikimedia CommonsBy Michal Osmenda. Esteban Zorrilla, New Head of Investment Strategy at HSBC in Miami
HSBC has appointed Esteban Zorrilla as new head of the Investment Strategy team for their Miami office, reporting to Ajay Loganadan, the American region’s director, based in New York.
According to information received by Funds Society from sources close to the bank, Zorrilla will take over the team following the departure of Carolina Montiel, who joined EFG to manage the Swiss bank’s new Investment Strategy department.
Zorrilla has over 15 years experience in international private banking and financial investments in Spain, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, USA and Latin America. Prior to joining HSBC in 2010, he worked in other international institutions such as Banco Santander and Morgan Stanley.
Zorrilla, Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Deusto (Bilbao), holds an MBA in Banking Management from the Instituto Universitario de Posgrado(Postgraduate University Institute).
Wikimedia CommonsHead of BBVA Compass in Birmingham, AL. By Ralph Daily
. BBVA Compass creates a division for UHNW clients in Latin America headed by Manuel Sánchez Castillo
BBVA Compass has just created a new department within its international private banking division. The new division, aimed at UHNW clients in Latin America will be dependent on the Wealth Management unit. This new group will be headed by Manuel Sánchez Castillo, who will manage the team from Miami as regional manager for Latin America, as told to Funds Society by sources of the organization.
“The new project is committed to the group’s presence in Latin America and is aimed at enhancing the service in this sector,” those sources explained.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Sánchez Castillo has spent most of his career at Banco Santander, first in Spain and over the last 12 years in Miami as head of Management and Investment and later as manager of Investment and Advisory services. While in Madrid he worked at Santander Asset Management and Banesto Funds as head of International Equities.
In 2009, the executive became responsible for Santander’s Private Wealth division. In 2011 he moved to BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Miami as director of Latam Key Clients, until joining BBVA Compass in late April. Sánchez Castillo is a graduate in Economics from the UCM (Complutense University in Madrid).
MSCI has introduced the MSCI China A High Dividend Yield (HDY) Index. This new index includes stocks with a track record of sustainable and consistent dividend payouts and dividend growth. It can serve as a benchmark for investors targeting the high dividend yielding opportunity set within the flagship MSCI China A Index or as the basis for financial products such as exchange traded funds.
“Furthermore, we have seen close to a 110% increase in the number of dividend-paying companies in the MSCI China A Index since 2009. The MSCI China A High Dividend Yield Index offers a timely new index choice for clients interested in this subset of the China A-Share market.”
The MSCI China A HDY Index includes only securities that offer a higher-than-average dividend yield (i.e., at least 30% higher) relative to that of the parent index, the MSCI China A Index, and that pass dividend sustainability and persistence screens. In addition, MSCI screens out stocks that do not meet certain “quality” characteristics to exclude stocks with potentially deteriorating fundamentals that could force them to cut or reduce dividends. The MSCI China A HDY Index is calculated using free float-adjusted market capitalization weights.
“Dividends produced from the stocks in the MSCI China A Index have grown significantly—from RMB 12.95 billion in 2005 to RMB 94.7 billion in 2012,” said Theodore Niggli, MSCI Managing Director and Head of the Asia Pacific Index business. “Furthermore, we have seen close to a 110 percent increase in the number of dividend-paying companies in the MSCI China A Index since 2009. The MSCI China A High Dividend Yield Index offers a timely new index choice for clients interested in this subset of the China A-Share market.”
By Julioalcaine. TCW Group Establishes a UCITS Platform and Opens Offices in Paris & Hong Kong
TCW Group has announced the expansion of its distribution efforts in Europe and Asia, with the opening of new TCW offices in Paris and Hong Kong staffed by industry veterans familiar with those regions. The announcement follows the Feb. 6 completion of the acquisition of TCW from Société Générale by TCW management and The Carlyle Group.
“Expanding our international distribution platform is a significant priority for TCW, and we have a long-term commitment to serve investors across Asia and Europe,” said David Lippman, TCW President and CEO. “We look forward to working closely with investors across those key regions to build new partnerships and develop new products that meet the needs of international investors.”
The Paris office is overseen by Heinrich Riehl, a TCW Managing Director and Head of TCW Europe. In Hong Kong, the office is overseen by Stacy Hsu, a TCW Managing Director and Head of TCW Asia.
TCW has established a UCITS platform in Luxembourg to build a fund franchise that will replicate the most successful funds in the TCW and MetWest U.S. fund complexes, which have $53.8 billion in assets and have grown very rapidly in recent years. TCW has also forged several key international distribution partnerships, including sub-advisory relationships with Amundi and Pictet in Europe; and a partnership in the Middle East with NCB to offer Shariah-compliant funds.
Founded in 1971, The TCW Group, develops and manages approximately $130.7 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2013. TCW clients include many of the largest corporate and public pension plans, financial institutions, endowments and foundations in the U.S., as well as a substantial number of foreign investors and high net worth individuals.
Wikimedia Commonsby Colette. "European Markets Have Climbed the Wall of Worry"
Kathleen Dickson, Director in BlackRock in charge of explaining to clients how the team portfolios are positioned talks with Funds Society about her views for the eurozone, claiming that since 2007, European markets have climbed the wall of worry.
During her second visit to Mexico with BlackRock, she mentions that since the bottom in 2009 of European valuations, in euro terms, the eurostoxx 600 has almost risen by 100%, and although current valuations are not as attractive as 12 months ago, the hunt for yield makes them an interesting asset. The Executive mentions that the fact that Draghi put a line under the financial crisis stating that the ECB would do whatever it takes to insure financial security for the eurozone -like buying short duration bonds in the market, an equivalent to Quantitative Easing – as well as the fact that Europe offers 4% yield –the highest yield in developed markets-, and positive earnings growth potential are giving security to investors and have the potential to allow the market to develop positively.
Dickson also commented that when looking at yields as the barometer of risk appetite, the fact that the yields that blew out last summer have gone back to normal is proof that the financial crisis is been dealt with. She mentions that there might be a “turning point in September with the German election but once got through that, with a positive outcome, we could see the market continue to do well”.
Amongst the initiatives she would like to see implemented to further growth are a transmission of lending in order to get money in the real economy, via an increase of lending to small business, and the banking sector repairing their balance sheet, to better solvency.
About her expectations going forward Dickson mentions that she sees positive flows in the future. “Investors are more willing to look at Europe. Europe is cheap, European valuations are trading on a significant discount to the US market”, stating that if investors currently underweight in their European positions come back or move from high yield bonds into euro equity, ownership level will move to a natural balance.
Speaking of their preferences in the market, she highlights consumer discretionary, mentioning their position is neutral on financials and low in utilities and telecom given their low growth and highly regulated environments.
When it comes to choosing a company to acquire positions in, income plays a huge part, and so their portfolios are highly geared toward earnings growth and international earners (50% of MSCI European companies revenues are generated outside Europe). “We are no buying countries, we allocate to companies with earnings elsewhere, like the Industrial sector”. In general looking for opportunities to tap into foreign growth through individual companies.
Kathleen Dickson, with over 22 years of experience in the markets, is in charge of managing the business side of a variety of alpha generating portfolios with over 26 billion usd in assets from a variety of institutional clients like pension funds or insurance companies. Amongst her team’s most popular funds are the BGF European Fund, BGF Euromarkets and the Absolute Return Long Short.
Wikimedia CommonsYves Bonzon, Pictet CIO. "El dólar americano está listo para un aumento constante"
Three different regimes rule the US dollar: depreciation, crisis and secular uptrend. Few investors realise that we have shifted into a secular uptrend regime and this will have consequences on asset clases one should hold in a portfolio of investments. In this video, Yves Bonzon, Pictet CIO, describes the regimes and asset classes to favour at the moment.
