Foto: Krissyho
. JP Morgan AM amplía su equipo de deuda de mercados emergentes
J.P. Morgan Asset Management has appointed Diana Kiluta Amoa and Celina Apóstolo Merrill as part of the Emerging Markets Debt Team within the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities Group.
Ms Amoa joins as senior portfolio manager on the Local Currency Emerging Markets Debt team. She will be based in London and will report to Didier Lambert, Lead Portfolio Manager for Local Currency (Rates and FX). In this role, she will partner with Mr Lambert on overall Rates and FX strategy across pooled funds and segregated accounts.
Ms Amoa brings 11 years of industry experience to J.P. Morgan Asset Management; most recently, she was responsible for the CEMEEA Rates Trading business at UBS AG. Previously, she also held positions in Emerging Markets Fixed Income Trading at Societe Generale and Standard Chartered. Ms Amoa began her career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management as a Global Multi-Asset Portfolio Manager.
Ms Merrill joins as senior credit analyst within the Corporate Debt Emerging Markets team. She will be based in New York and will report to Scott McKee, Lead Portfolio Manager, EM Corporate Debt. In this role, she will be responsible for fundamental corporate research, valuation and portfolio management related to the corporate debt strategy.
Ms Merrill brings 16 years of industry experience to J.P Morgan Asset Management. Prior to joining the firm, she was the head of EM Corporate Credit at Van Eck Global. Previously, Ms Merrill was a Director of Latin American Corporate bond research at Credit Suisse, and also held positions at TPG Credit Management, Greywolf Capital and Goldman Sachs.
“We are delighted to welcome Diana and Celina. Their strong respective expertise in emerging markets debt further enhances our ongoing commitment to fundamental research as a building block of our investment process,” said Pierre-Yves Bareau, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Emerging Markets Debt, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
. Embrace New Sources of Return: Pioneer Investment’s Miami Forum
Pioneer Investments will host an exclusive due diligence meeting at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami on the 8th of October. The event will provide clients with the opportunity to engage with Pioneer Investments’ senior investment team members as they look beyond traditional asset classes, challenge conventional asset allocation and risk management, and identify compelling new investment solutions.
Amongst others, highlight speakers coming together from Pioneer Investments around the globe will include:
Piergaetano Iaccarino: Head of Thematic & Disciplined Equity, Portfolio Manager of Pioneer Funds – Global Equity Target Income
Thomas Swaney: Head of Alternative Fixed Income U.S., Portfolio Manager of Pioneer Funds – Long / Short Opportunistic Credit
Adam MacNulty: Client Portfolio Manager of Pioneer Funds – Absolute Return Multi-Strategy & Absolute Return Multi-Strategy Growth
Andrew Feltus: Director of High Yield Bank Loans, Portfolio Manager of Pioneer Funds – Strategic Income
As fundamental changes taking place in the investment management market continue to lead investors to look beyond their existing strategies, the theme “Embrace New Sources of Return” is a continuation from Pioneer Investments’ global annual client meeting for international investors held in Boston in April.
Key topics of conversation on October 8th will include:
How to navigate Fixed Income markets in a rising interest rate environment.
The outlook for Equities moving forward in continued volatility.
Where are the opportunities in Emerging Markets?
How to meet the need for Income in today’s economic environment.
What Alternative Investments can provide market neutral solutions?
Foto: MinWoo, Flickr, Creative Commons. El positivo escenario para la industria de fondos europea hace que relaje su consolidación en el segundo trimestre
“As mentioned in the last report, it seems European fund promoters are in a standby mode, even though the activity regarding fund closures, mergers, and launches went up in Q2 2015 compared to Q1 2015. One reason for this can be seen in the still-exceptional high net inflows witnessed by the European fund industry during Q2 2015; higher assets under management (AUM) lead to a higher income stream and therefore to lower pressure with regard to the profitability of single funds within the product ranges. In addition, we have already seen a lot of activity with regard to the cleanup of product ranges, meaning European fund promoters have done a lot to realize economies of scale within their product offerings. This might have eased pressure on profits. That said, the activity in the equity segment during Q2 2015 showed there is still a lot for promoters to do on this front”, says Lipper.
During Q2 2015, 459 funds were launched in Europe. The quantity of newly launched products was 11% behind the number of launches during second quarter 2014, but it was in line with the average of the last four measured second quarters (the number of launches for Q2 2011 needs to be considered as exceptional).
“It is remarkable that the industry has not started to launch a massive number of new products to profit from the ongoing trend toward asset allocation/multi-asset and income products as has been seen in the past. Nevertheless, the European fund industry still has a lot of room for consolidation, since the AUM in Europe is still far behind the average AUM in the United States”, according to the report.
The number of liquidations went down approximately 11%, comparing Q2 2015 with Q2 2014—to 359 from 402, for the lowest number of liquidations in the five-year observation period.
The number of fund mergers went up approximately 28%, from 257 for Q2 2014 to 329 for Q2 2015, but–similar to launches–fund mergers were in line with the average of the last four measured second quarters.
“Since there is still a lot of activity regarding mergers and acquisitions in the European asset management industry, the alignment of product ranges and the resulting mergers and closures of funds will be one driver of future consolidation in the industry. This is the easiest way to increase the potential profits from an acquisition. That said, we see no lack of innovation in the European fund industry, and therefore we still expect the European asset management industry to show net growth in terms of new funds at some point in the near future. That will depend on general market conditions staying in the favor of investors, i.e., that no negative trend hits the stock or bond markets. The growth pattern of the industry is heavily dependent on market conditions and investor confidence”.
Beamonte Investments, a private investment firm in Boston, along with its affiliate Beamonte Mexico Holdings SAPI de CV, announces the formation of Fondeadora KC, SAPI de CV (KCMX Capital) a Mexico City-based company dedicated to provide innovative financing solutions to SME’s in Mexico.
KCMX is specifically designed to serve small and middle market family-owned operating enterprises in Mexico and will provide structured financing across the capital structure and short-term financing as Factoring. KCMX will assume the operations and portfolio of Kiwii Capital.
KCMX Capital is a provider of senior secured asset-based loans to the small and middle-market across a variety of industries with additional complementary financing throughout the capital structure. KCMX will offer financing schemes, such as project finance/contract-linked, receivables financing, and inventory financing products, as well as structured loans.
Luis Felipe Treviño, who currently serves as senior Managing Director of Beamonte Investments, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of KCMX Capital.“We are excited to announce a premiere credit platform like KCMX that offers our investors a unique way to capitalize on the opportunity to finance the growth of SME’s in Mexico”, said Treviño.
Salvador Gaytan former CEO of Kiwii Capital will serve as Director of Operations.“I’m thrilled to be part again of another venture with Beamonte Investments, KCMX is a vehicle that allows us to provide a more robust product offering to serve SME’s, we work with companies with annual sales between MXN 20 million to 150 million that provide products or services to large corporations. The credit facilities goes from MXN 1.5 million up to 50 million”, said Gaytan
Art Steinmetz, de OppenheimerFunds, y Vince Lowry, de VTL Associates. Foto: PRNewsFoto/OppenheimerFunds. OppenheimerFunds compra VTL
OppenheimerFunds has announced an agreement to acquire VTL Associates, an independent institutional investment firm best known for itsRevenueShares exchange traded funds (ETFs). VTL manages $1.7 billion for investors across eight ETFs and its separate accounts.
The acquisition expands the firm´s active client offering into the growing smart-beta space, subject to customary closing conditions and consents. The deal will bring both high-quality smart-beta ETFs and an ETF platform offering cost- and tax-efficient investment solutions that financial advisors are increasingly using in their investors’ portfolios.
“Investors are looking to active managers for innovative solutions to add to their overall investment strategy, including products that are designed to deliver better-than-market returns with full transparency of their investment process,” said Art Steinmetz, Chairman, President and CEO of OppenheimerFunds.
In general, smart beta strives to identify factors that have the potential to generate positive risk-adjusted returns compared with market-cap-weighted index funds. VTL applies a proprietary methodology to screen and weight the stocks in each ETF according to various factors such as revenue or dividends, instead of by market capitalization. This practice is designed to lower exposure to overvalued companies, while maintaining diversification by investing in all of the stocks in the given index. VTL has been successfully employing this strategy in ETFs since 2008.
“Our firm has grown by serving the needs of investors seeking above-market returns delivered through a suite of custom index products and institutional advisory services,” said Vince Lowry, Founder of VTL.
Peter Mintzberg, Head of Corporate Strategy and Development at OppenheimerFunds, said, “Clients have expressed interest in OppenheimerFunds expanding its array of investment capabilities. We are expediting that process with a strategic acquisition, as we did most recently in 2012 with SteelPath, which enabled clients and their investors to participate in the income and tax advantages afforded by master limited partnerships. We continue to look for these types of opportunities to further broaden our offering in a way that is consistent with our core investment approach.”
Foto: El Coleccionista de Instantes Fotografía & Video
. S&P DJI lanza un índice de valores católicos
S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index which is designed to include the companies within the S&P 500 whose business practices adhere to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (US CCB) and exclude those that do not.
The Index has been licensed to Global X for product development.
The S&P 500 Catholic Values Index is the first Catholic index based on such a prominent benchmark as the S&P 500. Constituents are screened to exclude companies who are involved in the following activities that are perceived to be inconsistent with Catholic values as set out by the US CCB, such as:
Biological weapons, chemical weapons, cluster bombs, landmines
Nuclear weapons– any exposure to whole systems and strategic par
Conventional Military sales– companies that have their primary business activity as military products
Child labor employmentin the company’s operation or in supply chain
“Sustainable issues represent one of the most important cost and revenue drivers in the modern corporate world,” says Julia Kochetygova, Head of Sustainability Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices.”By selecting stocks that comply with the US CCB, the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index aims to include companies with resilient business profiles by addressing the ethical challenges that can make a stronger investment case. We are excited to be working with Global X by licensing this new and innovative index to them.”
“As a client-focused ETF company, Global X consistently strives to find new paths that help support our clients’ businesses,” Jim Glowina, Regional Consultant at Global X adds. “Global X is excited to bring to market a custom ETF, which seeks to provide a solution for a client’s chosen investment strategy.”
“I welcome the creation of the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index and support its specific selection rules. It is important that investors now have a representative measure of the performance of those S&P 500 companies that adhere to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,” states Father Seamus Finn O.M.I., Chief of Faith Consistent Investing, Oblate International Pastoral Investment Trust.
Suramericana, Grupo SURA´s insurance and risk management subsidiary, announces that it has reached a definite agreement to acquire RSA Insurance Group’s operations in Latin America, for a total of GBP 403 million, that represents COP 1,910,750 million (US$ 614 million) for 99.6% of the equity, payable in cash.
RSA’s Latin American operations represent a leading, geographically-diversified P&C franchise within the region, with a presence spanning Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. The aforementioned operations posted total assets of COP 6,181,628 million (US$ 1.9 billion) at year-end 2014; this in addition to net reserves worth COP 1,964,868 million (US$ 631 million), and total gross written premiums amounting to COP 3,362,834 million (US$ 1.1 billion).
With this acquisition, Suramericana will consolidate its position in the Latin American insurance market. It shall become a top player in Chile and Uruguay, and #9 in Argentina. As for Mexico and Brazil, the largest markets in Latin America, the Company shall be entering new market niches offering substantial growth potential, while in Colombia it would be strengthening its existing offering and consolidating its leading position.
“This transaction represents a unique opportunity to expand our presence across the fast-growing Latin American markets. We are certain that this new acquisition shall create value for all our clients, as well as for us in Suramericana, our parent company Grupo SURA and the Organization as a whole, through the diversification of our geographical risk, sharing of best practices and harnessing of synergies, while at the same time allowing us to develop new markets” stated Gonzalo Alberto Pérez, CEO of Suramericana S.A.
Suramericana is well-known for building long term relationships and implementing world-class standards in all countries where present. The Company will consolidate this new acquisition, with the help of RSA’s recognized human talent in the region, while capitalizing Suramericana´s70 years of experience and expertise in the insurance sector.
Now that it has acquired RSA’s Latin American operations, Suramericana shall be extending its current presence in Colombia, Panamá, Dominican Republic and El Salvador, thereby consolidating its position as one of the most important insurance companies in the region with over 15.6 million clients.
At the same time, Grupo SURA, Suramericana’s parent company, has welcomed this acquisition as part of the organization´s strategy to develop a wider range of financial services within the region. “This transaction is being carried out maintaining the highest corporate governance standards, fulfilling our expectations in terms of corporate reputation, senior management capabilities, and business practices”, stated David Bojanini, CEO of Grupo SURA.
Amidst recent market volatility, the change in China’s stock market has been quite dramatic, shifting from overvalued to possibly undervalued according to data from Thomson Reuters Fundamental Research. Following the Chinese stock market crash, the 360 day growth rate is now a more reasonable 37% compared to a lofty 150% from just a month ago, and the difference between the five year growth rates has swung into positive territory. More details follow:
“A month ago, our StarMine data warned that the Chinese markets seemed overvalued at the time,” said Sridharan Raman, senior research analyst at Thomson Reuters. “With the crash in markets over the past few weeks, the market may be discounting stocks more than necessary, out of fear or panic. Our models now show that the markets may actually be undervalued now in China.”
Countries with the smallest differential between StarMine’s Market Implied Growth Rate and the Compound Annual Growth Rate show where market expectations for growth are above, or match, analyst expectations for the next five years, representing possibly over- or fair- valued markets. After the recent stock market collapse, the difference between market expectations for growth and analysts’ expectations in China has moved from -0.2% in early June to 7.7%; more in line with possible undervalued markets.
Foto: Matthias Rhomberg
. Los Agnelli cierran la venta de Cushman & Wakefield a DTZ
EXOR, one of Europe’s leading listed investment companies -controlled by the Agnelli Family and with a NAV (Net Asset Value) of $14 billion–, has this month closed the sale of its entire shareholding in Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ, a company owned by an investor group composed of TPG, PAG and OTPP.
Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ will now merge to create one of the world’s largest real estate services companies in a transaction that establishes a total enterprise value for Cushman & Wakefield of $2.042 billion. The deal generates net proceeds of $ 1.278 billion in respect of EXOR’s 75% shareholding in Cushman & Wakefield, representing a capital gain for EXOR of approximately $ 722 million.
DTZ owners, TPG Capital, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, have made clear their commitment to investing in the combined company’s future growth as well as retaining and capitalising upon Cushman & Wakefield’s outstanding senior management and brokerage talent.
Under the leadership of Cushman & Wakefield CEO, Ed Forst, in 2014 the company delivered record results in terms of revenues and margins, with commissions and service fee revenues of $2.1 billion, Adjusted EBITDA of $175.4 million and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.4%. When EXOR acquired its controlling stake in Cushman & Wakefield in March 2007, commissions and service fee revenues were $1.5 billion, EBITDA stood at $116 million and the firm’s EBITDA margin was 7.6%.
Commenting on the transaction, John Elkann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EXOR, said upon announcement of agreement on May 11th: “We are proud to have enabled Cushman & Wakefield build on its strengths, in the face of very challenging markets, to become the great business it is today. Our belief in the Cushman & Wakefield brand and our confidence in the outstanding professionalism of its people have been rewarded not only in the record performance delivered by Ed and the management team in 2014 but also in the ambition they have demonstrated to take the business into a new era of growth and development.”
Foto: Bert Kaufmann
. Pioneer Investments ficha a John Black para dirigir el Desarrollo de Negocio Institucional en EE.UU.
Pioneer Investments announced that it has named John Black as Senior Vice President, Institutional Business Development Officer in the U.S. based in Boston. This is a new position.
“We’re building strong momentum in our institutional business and John will further strengthen our team,” said Bill Porter, Senior Vice President and Head of Institutional – North America. “We’re seeing increasing acceptance of our capabilities in the institutional market across a range of strategies. John has more than 20 years of experience within various segments of the institutional market and has developed a number of strong relationships over the course of his career that will be a welcome addition to Pioneer,” Porter added.
John is Pioneer’s second senior institutional sales hire this year. Michael Dirstine, who also has 20 years of experience in the institutional market, joined Pioneer in June.
Prior to joining Pioneer Investments, John was Senior Vice President, Institutional Sales at McKenzie Investments Corp. in Toronto, Ontario,where he worked closely with Consultant Relations to prioritize U.S. prospects and execute sales strategies. Prior to that, John was Vice President of Institutional Sales at State Street Global Advisors in Boston from 2007 to 2013 and Vice President of Institutional Brokerage Sales from 2004 to 2007. Before State Street, John was Vice President of Institutional Sales, Securities Lending and Prime Brokerage at Goldman Sachs in Boston and New York from 1997 to 2004. John holds a B.A. in Economics from Colby College. He is series 7 and 63 licensed.
