Argentina-based Properati, the Latin American online and mobile solution for the real estate market, announced it has received a US$ 2 million investments from Neveq II, NXTP Labs, and Telor International Limited. With this new round the company has raised a total investment of US$ 4.2 million since it was founded in February 2013 and plans to consolidate its regional presence in Mexico and Brazil.
The company will use these funds to expand and consolidate its regional presence in key markets like Mexico and Brazil, and to continue developing innovative solutions to help the Real Estate industry become more efficient in their sales processes.
Properati already has over 1 million properties published in Brazil and almost 2 million in LatAm, covering a significant area of the real estate market in those countries and the region, with an innovative business model where clients only pay for the qualified leads they receive, and users may browse an ad-free site.
Regarding the fund’s investment in Properati, Ariel Arrieta, NXTP Labs co-founder and CEO, stated that: “Properati’s product is the most efficient way for brokers and developers to generate qualified leads and convert them into sold inventory. Over the last 12 months the company has made a significant progress in markets like Brazil and Argentina, with a clear value proposition for its clients, and we are happy to support their next wave of expansion into Mexico and other Latin American markets”.
In addition, Properati has announced that Ariel Muslera will join the board of the company. Muslera is a specialist in fundraising and business strategy, and has extensive experience as advisor in different startups.
Foto: Raúl A.-
. El sueño americano: la felicidad y seguridad son más valoradas que la riqueza
According to a research recently released by Northwestern Mutual, two-thirds (66%) of U.S. adults believe that they can attain ‘The American Dream’, and only 16% feel it is out of reach. That said, the study also revealed some interesting nuances about how perceptions of The American Dream have changed, and not just generation over generation. A third (31%) of Americans say their definition of The American Dream has changed in just the last five years; and more than half (57%) say their view of The American Dream is different than how their parents viewed it.
In today’s view of The American Dream, happiness and security are valued considerably more than wealth, opportunity and moving up in social class. When asked about the most defining characteristics of The American Dream today, the top two answers were: “Having a happy family life” (59%); and “Being financially secure” (58%).
This far outweighed some of the more traditional notions of The American Dream, including: “Having more opportunities than my parents’ generation” (18%); “Having wealth/making a lot of money” (11%); and “Moving up in social class” (3%).
Interestingly, a full three-quarters of Americans (74%) say they would not swap the lifestyle and financial situation they have today for what their parents had when they were the same age.
“The goal today seems to be more about outcomes – happiness, security and peace of mindrather thanmaterial wealth or the opportunity to advance,” said Rebekah Barsch, vice president of planning and sales at the firm.
Financial Insecurity While long-term optimism in the attainability of The American Dream is positive, there is also considerable evidence showing that many people do not feel financially secure in the present, and are not bringing high levels of discipline to their financial planning. The study found that nearly a third of U.S. adults (29%) said they do not feel financially secure; Only one in five (21%) Americans consider themselves to be “highly disciplined” financial planners; A third (34%) consider themselves “disciplined” planners; Another third (33%) consider themselves “informal”; And more than one in ten (12%) “do not plan at all” and “have not set any financial goals”.
Photo: Karen Roe
. FOX presenta el "Private Investor Council", para inversores sofisticados
Family Office Exchange (FOX), a global membership organization of enterprise families and their key advisors, recently announced the formation of the FOX Private Investor Council, a new Council-level membership specifically for sophisticated investors who make their own investment decisions and consider different risk and reward dynamics than most other investors. This membership allows them to collaborate with other independent investors to share ideas and take advantage of the latest thinking brought to the table by selected industry experts.
“The members of this Council are primarily focused on their investing activity, and they are the ultimate decision makers,” said Alexandre Monnier, president of FOX. “They operate with great independence but know that they would benefit from having a working group of other top-notch practitioners to test their ideas, stimulate their thinking, and benchmark their results. That is the need this Council serves.”
“The advantage of belonging to the FOX Private Investor Council is that there is a constant stream of new ideas flowing into the discussion,” added Karen Clark, managing director at the organization and leader of this Council. “The quality of the group is not limited to the experience of those in the room which is considerable in the first place. Cutting edge ideas are brought into the discussion by experts to elevate the discussion.”
The Council will meet twice a year. An April meeting will coincide with the FOX Spring Global Investor Forum in San Francisco and a September meeting with the FOX Autumn Global Investor Forum in New York City.
Councils are the highest level of engagement at FOX and approximately 30% of members belong to one of the 12 different Councils, which provide heightened interaction among closely matched peers who are working through a relevant curriculum designed by FOX to foster their personal and professional skills.
The European fund and asset management industry met on 16 and 17 of June in Malta, at the occasion of EFAMA’s Annual General Meeting. Hosted by the Maltese Funds Industry Association (MFIA), the AGM provided an opportunity for EFAMA members to discuss the investment and regulatory landscape and to exchange views with representatives from the European Commission and the Maltese Financial Services Authority.
The AGM marked the end of a first year under the mandate of EFAMA President Alexander Schindler, Member of the Executive Board of Union Asset Management Holding AG. During this time, the European asset management industry continued to grow, with 2015 being a record year and net sales of European investment funds rising to an all-time high of EUR 734 billion.
Schindler reported on the activity highlights during his first year, mentioning that the overarching EU initiative of the Capital Markets Union is a welcome, ambitious project which highlights the key role asset managers can play in providing alternative funding sources and channelling savings and investments into long-term projects. In the same vein, the European asset management industry, remains fully committed to the idea of developing a Pan-European Personal Pension product (PEPP). He commented: “Much has been done in recent years in the regulatory field. Much remains to be done in terms of implementing and applying these new regulations. With the MIFID II delay, industry now has more breathing room and is hands-on in preparing to apply the new rules.
According to EFAMA, the application of the new PRIIP KID rules remains a major issue, however, it should be done right for the sake of investors. “It serves no one’s purpose – and certainly not the investors’ interests – to rush through the Level-2 process.”
On the issue of personal pensions, they mentioned that “people need to start saving earlier, save more and save for longer, and the PEPP can address the current savings gap. Building on the excellent work done EIOPA, we hope the European Commission will concur that the creation of a PEPP would create invaluable benefits for EU citizens and the European economy”.
During the general assembly, EFAMA also welcomed two new National Associations as full members: the Cyprus Funds Association (CIFA) and the Croatian Association of Investment Fund Companies. Both have been members of EFAMA with observer status since June 2014.
Peter De Proft, Director General of EFAMA commented: “We are very pleased to see more full members joining our family. Dialogue, feedback, interactions and good governance are key elements in the smooth running of a European association. We are looking forward to working with the Cyprus and Croatian associations, and to continue to grow our membership and reach to feed into our increasingly constructive discussions with European institutions”. Adding that “in 2015, EFAMA and its members have had to begin adapting their modus operandi and will no doubt have to undertake further adjustments as the regulatory implementation stretches into the horizon. Some priorities, however, do not change: nine years after the start of the global financial crisis, we need to concentrate even more on performance in the interest of our investors.”
Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman, Malta Funds Industry Association (MFIA), commented: “The Malta Funds Industry Association is delighted to have been given the opportunity to host this prestigious event in Malta. The Association’s membership with EFAMA enables the MFIA to be an active participant in the multi-faceted developments shaping the European Funds Industry, with the end benefits being relayed to the members of the Association in Malta. Moreover, this provides an excellent platform for the Association to exchange views with other Associations on matters of common interest, share best practices and to analyse and monitor the impact of any significant new developments for the interest of the local industry.”
Foto: TurboSquid 3D printing. ¿Qué le pasó al mercado alcista?
According to Russ Koesterich, Head of Asset Allocation for BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund, “the bull market has stumbled, but that doesn’t mean we are headed towards a bear market.”
Indeed stocks suffered a horrific sell-off last Friday following the surprise vote by the UK to exit the European Union. But even before the Brexit vote, stocks had been losing steam. U.S. large cap stocks have now gone well over a year without making a new high. The S&P 500 is trading right where it was in the fall of 2014. Small cap stocks have performed even worse. The Russell 2000 bounced sharply off of the February lows, but small caps remain roughly 10% below their 2015 peak.
What happened to the bull market? Koesterich believes that three trends help answer that question, which he explains in his company’s blog:
Stocks got expensive U.S. stocks are not in a bubble — valuations remain significantly below the peak in 2000 — but that is not the same as being cheap, or even fairly priced. At over 19x trailing earnings stocks are trading in the top quartile of their historical valuation range. True, stocks still look cheap relative to bonds, but it is worth considering why. Bond yields are low because nominal growth is remarkably weak, not a great environment for corporate earnings. In addition, central banks have increasingly treated bond markets as yet another manifestation of monetary policy. Bond yields have been driven lower not just by the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) quantitative easing (QE), but more recently by the behavior of other central banks. As the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan have driven yields into negative territory, U.S. bonds have become more attractive to foreign buyers, pushing yields still lower. Stocks are cheap relative to bonds because bond yields reflect little growth and aggressive central banks.
Financial conditions have become less benign Interest rates, both nominal and real (i.e. after inflation), are incredibly low, but other measures of financial conditions are less benign. While the dollar is trading roughly where it was a year ago, it is up more than 20% from its 2014 lows. A stronger dollar is a de facto monetary tightening and a headwind for corporate earnings. Other measures also indicate tighter financial conditions. Credit spreads have narrowed from their recent peak, but high yield spreads are roughly 200 basis points wider than they were two years ago. Finally, liquidity has become harder to find, as demonstrated by the recent freeze in IPOs.
The tailwinds abated Much of the stock market gains in 2012 and 2013 were driven by multiple expansion on the back of aggressive monetary stimulus. Between the market low in 2011 and the end of 2014 the price-to-earnings ratio on the S&P 500 expanded by over 40%. Put differently, as central banks, including the Fed, embarked on an increasingly aggressive series of monetary experiments investors responded by consistently paying more for a dollar of earnings. However, since 2014, QE has ended and monetary stimulus by other central banks, notably the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank, is proving less effective in stimulating asset prices, outside of European credit.
Where does this leave investors? “The good news is that none of these conditions signal an imminent bear market. Valuations are high, but have typically been higher at market peaks. The dollar has stabilized, which should take some pressure off of corporate earnings. Unfortunately, with central bank policy increasingly impotent and valuations elevated and political risk on the rise investors need to recalibrate their expectations. Consistent years of double digit returns can be viewed as borrowing returns from the future. It appears that future is now, suggesting lower returns today.” He concludes.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) today published in cooperation with SWIFT, a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres ofLuxembourg and Ireland in 2014.
The report confirms that the automation rate and the use of the ISO standards in the fund industry increased to 82.6% (from 79.8% in December 2013), reaching a new all-time high.
The report is part of an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 82.6% in the last quarter of 2014, which represents an increase of 2.8 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 4.5 p.p., while manual processes and FTP rates dropped to 17.4% (-2.8 p.p.) and 33.2% (-1.7 p.p.) respectively, in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 81.3% during Q4 2014, compared to 76.6% in Q4 2013.The ISO automation rate remains stable at 57.9% in Q4 2014. The rate of proprietary FTP increased to 23.4% against 18.8% in Q4 2013, while manual orders decreased to 18.7% against 23.4% in Q4 2013.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs remains stable with 85.6% in Q4 2014 compared to Q4 2013.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, says: “As we have seen in previous years, the funds industry continues to move towards more automation and standardization in the processing of cross-border fund orders. By relying less on manual processing, fund managers thus increase the efficiency of their operations, which helps reduce their overall costs and increases the potential return of their funds, and is a very positive development.”
Fabian Vandenreydt, Head of Markets Management, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds: “The industry is making great strides towards full automation of the funds order process. Similar to other business areas, the adoption of standards and the move towards automation significantly reduces the costs and risks commonly associated with manual processing. It is great to see comparable progress in the funds industry, particularly the work SWIFT has done in collaboration with EFAMA, which is clearly paving the way to more efficient back office operations across the funds distribution process.”
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has published in cooperation with SWIFT a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in 2015.
The report is an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey.
The report highlights include that torder volumesincreased by 11% in 2015, bringing the total volume processed by the 29 survey participants to 34.1 million orders last year.
The total automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds reached 85.4% in the last quarter of 2015, which represents an increase of 2.8 percentage points (p.p.) compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 1.8 p.p. to 51.2%, while the use of manual processes dropped to 14.6% (-2.8 p.p.) in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 82.9% in the last quarter of 2015 compared to 81.3% in the last quarter of 2014. The ISO automation rate increased from 57.9% in Q4 2014 to 65% in Q4 2015, while the use of proprietary ftp decreased from 23.4% in Q4 2014 to 17.9% in Q4 2015.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 89.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, from 85.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014. The use of manual processes falls down to 10.3% in Q4 2015 compared to 14.4% in Q4 2014.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, notes: “The continuous progress towards ISO adoption and the impressive 15% drop in manual processing of funds orders confirm that the European investment funds industry continued to improve the efficiency of its back-office operations in 2015. This is tangible proof of the industry’s commitment to reduce operational risks and to ensure ever-improving services for its clients.”
Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds: “Back in 2009, when we launched the first EFAMA-SWIFT report, we, together as an industry, had established an objective to reach 80% of automated cross-border fund orders, which seemed realistic, yet ambitious.
Today, with more than 85% of cross-border funds orders automated, the ongoing progress of the transfer agent communities of Luxembourg and Ireland is a testament to the commitment of these markets to become more efficient for the benefit of its clients, and to alleviate the high costs and risks associated with manual processing. Along with the substantial increase of funds order volumes (which progressed by 11% compared to 2014), it is also encouraging to note that, when TAs are setting up new links with new order givers, ISO adoption is, more than ever, the first choice.
With EFAMA’s recommendation of a single ISO standard to be used in the funds industry, we are clearly moving in the right direction, and now is the opportunity to focus on the potential next buckets of automation, namely for transfers and account openings, where we see the biggest potential for standardisation.”
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) recently published in cooperation with SWIFT, a new report on the evolution of automation and standardisation rates of fund orders received by transfer agents (TAs) in the cross-border fund centres of Luxembourg and Ireland in the first half of 2015.
The report confirms that the automation rate in the fund industry increased to 83.5% in Q2 2015 from 82.6% in Q4 2014.
The report is an on-going campaign by EFAMA and SWIFT to highlight the advancement of automation and standardisation rates of orders of cross-border funds. 29 TAs from Ireland and Luxembourg participated in this survey, representing more than 80% of the total incoming third-party investment funds order volumes in both markets.
The report highlights include:
The total order volume of cross-border funds increased by 11% to 17.5 million orders in the first half of 2015, from 15.8 million orders in the second half of 2014. The use of ISO messaging standards rose by 3.8 percentages points (p.p.) to 53.2%, while the use of manual processes and proprietary formats (FTP) dropped to 16.5% (-0.9 p.p.) and 30.3% (-2.9 p.p.), respectively, in the same time period.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Luxembourg TAs reached 81.2% in Q2 2015 compared to 81.3% in Q4 2014. The ISO automation rate increased from 57.9% in Q4 2014 to 64.3% in Q2 2015, while the use of proprietary ftp decreased from 23.4% in Q4 2014 to 16.9% in Q2 2015.
The total automation rate of orders processed by Irish TAs increased to 88.3% in Q2 2015, from 85.6% in Q4 2014. The percentage of automated orders based on the ISO messaging standards increase to 30.7% in Q2 2015, from 29.5% in Q4 2014.
Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, says: “The findings presented in this mid-year status report confirms the growing use of the ISO messaging standards in the processing of cross-border funds in both Luxembourg and Ireland. Compared to five years ago, overall, the share of orders processed using these standards has increased from 36% to 53%. This is a very positive development which brings greater efficiency funds processing and lower costs.”
Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute, SWIFT, adds: “This report indicates the strong focus of the industry towards a more efficient and reliable process in the funds industry. The decrease of FTP usage and manual processing versus adoption of ISO standards keeps on drawing the trends towards automation and cost reduction. SWIFT and EFAMA will pursue their efforts to lower the manual process as much as possible and support the industry where and when needed.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFoto: Steven Lee. Deloitte compra Casey Quirk, la consultora de gestión estratégica de activos a nivel global
Deloitte announced that it has acquired substantially all the assets of Casey Quirk, the world’s largest strategy consultancy devoted exclusively to serving the asset management industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The move combines the strengths and global reach of Deloitte, a leader in business transformation ranked number one in global strategy and operations consulting, with Casey Quirk, a leader in asset management strategy that has served a majority of the world’s 50 largest asset managers. The Casey Quirk partners and existing team will transition to Deloitte and will now operate under the “Casey Quirk by Deloitte” brand.
“This combination brings together capabilities to help our clients drive transformational change across their organizations. Together, we are positioned to work with our clients in responding to the range of quickly emerging, evolving and complex challenges, including globalization, innovation, competition and, most importantly, shifts in investor requirements,” commented Joe Guastella, US financial services consulting leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Additional challenges such as fee pressure, industry consolidation, technology disruption, increased regulation, and the rise of individual investors are creating unprecedented change in the global asset management industry. With an array of consulting services from strategy formulation through operational execution, Casey Quirk by Deloitte will offer one of the most complete sets of end-to-end consulting services available to asset management organizations.
“Casey Quirk is joining forces with Deloitte to broaden our global financial services footprint and deliver differentiated execution capabilities for our clients,” said Kevin P. Quirk, chairman, Casey Quirk. “This combination provides an unparalleled value proposition to the marketplace.”
“Casey Quirk has more than doubled its staff in the past three years and opened offices in Hong Kong and New York. Joining Deloitte is an optimal choice to help us maintain our tremendous growth,” said Yariv Itah, managing partner, Casey Quirk. “We also believe this creates a superior career platform for our talented team.”
“This is the latest in a string of strategic acquisitions Deloitte Consulting has made in recent years to continue helping our clients solve their most complex business challenges,” said Janet Foutty, chairman and CEO, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Casey Quirk’s deep strategy expertise, leading research and recognized talent in the asset management consulting space will bring even more value to the trusted relationships Deloitte has with our financial services clients.”
Foto: Peter-Ashley. Los inversores europeos se alejaron de la renta variable durante mayo
According to Detlef Glow, Head of EMEA research at Lipper, assets under management in the European mutual fund industry enjoyed net inflows of €1.3 bn into long-term mutual funds during May.
The single fund markets with the highest net inflows for May were Germany (+€1.9 bn), Switzerland (+€1.1 bn), Norway (+€0.8 bn), and the United Kingdom (+€0.6 bn). Meanwhile, Belgium was the single market with the highest net outflows (-€2.7 bn), bettered somewhat by the Netherlands (-€1.4 bn) and Luxembourg (-€1.2 bn).
Bond EUR Corporates (+€2.0 bn) was once again the best selling sector among long-term funds.
In terms of asset types, and according to Glow, “it seemed that European investors continued in a risk-off mode, selling risky assets,” equity funds (-€10.3 bn) were once again the ones with the highest net outflows in Europe, bettered by “other” funds (-€0.2 bn) and mixed-asset products (-€0.2 bn). In contrast, bond funds (+€7.8 bn) were the best selling asset type for May, followed by alternative UCITS (+€2.5 bn), real estate products (+€0.9 bn), and commodity funds (+€0.8 bn).
JP Morgan, with net sales of €4.8 bn, was the best selling fund promoter for May overall, ahead of BlackRock (+€4.3 bn) and Aviva (+€3.5 bn).
Eastspring Investments-Developed and Emerging Asia Eq E (+€2.1 bn) was the best selling individual long-term fund for May.
