Santiago Ulloa, founding partner of WE Family Offices. Courtesy Photo . WE Family Offices: How To Manage HNW In An Increasingly Globalized Environment
FIBA organices a new webinar, Understanding the Family Office Landscape, the next Tuesday, August 19th from 11:00am – 12:30pm EST.
Join WE Family Offices Managing Partners Maria Elena Lagomasino, Santiago Ulloa and Michael Zeuner for an interactive webinar discussing the family office landscape. Mel, Santiago and Michael will discuss the following topics:
What is a family office?
How is a family office different from a bank or other type of wealth management firm?
What are the different types of family offices?
How can a wealthy family determine whether a family office is right for them?
What does it cost to build or hire a family office?
Photo: KayGaensler, Flickr, Creative Commons. The Miami Selectors Event is Brought to a Close with Debates on Equities, Flexible Strategies, and High Yield
Latin American countries seeking to remain internationally competitive need to invest close to five percent of their GDP to bridge the region’s infrastructure gap. That presents big opportunities for firms throughout the hemisphere. Those opportunities will be highlighted at the Trade Americas & ConnectAmericas Expo: Building the Americas, to be held Sept. 3-4 in Miami, Florida.
Organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its ConnectAmericas initiative, in conjunction with Latin Trade Group, the infrastructure conference will bring together business and government leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the United States and other regions of the world interested in exploring business and investment opportunities in the region. Also attending will be representatives from country agencies responsible for infrastructure development.
The conference program features panel discussions by public and private sector leaders on a variety of subjects, including financing available to small and medium size companies (SMEs); trends in renewable energy and energy efficiency; transportation and logistics; urban infrastructure; public-private partnerships (PPPs); mass rapid transit systems; and doing business with the IDB.
The infrastructure expo will include a full day of business matchmaking that will give participants the opportunity to connect with potential clients, suppliers and investors from throughout the region and the rest of the world.
The Trade Americas & ConnectAmericas Expo will feature the launch of the ConnectAmericas.com Infrastructure Business Community, a virtual space where infrastructure developers will find potential local partners, suppliers and service providers for infrastructure tenders being published throughout the region.
Trade Americas & ConnectAmericas Expo partners include: Enterprise Florida, the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the US-Mexico Border Energy Forum XXI, and WEConnect International. ConnectAmericas.com partners include: Alibaba.com, DHL, Visa and Google.Trade Americas & ConnectAmericas Expo sponsors include: Emerson and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
Foto cedidaEmilio Botín, President of Universia. Emilio Botín: Banco Santander Will Invest €700 Million in University Projects until 2018
The III Universia International Presidents’ Meeting Rio 2014 has consisted in two days of intense discussions about 10 topics that are key for higher education in Ibero-America. 1,103 honorable presidents from 33 countries participated in this event, which closes with an institutional commitment subscribed by all universities in the Rio University Charter 2014. The President of Universia, Emilio Botín, thanked the efforts and collaboration of all participants in the discussion, development and conclusions of the 3rd Meeting, which was regarded as “historical”.
The event attracted 1,103 Presidents, more than 2,000 contributions from academic experts by means of online social networking services, a wide variety of topics discussed by participants from various countries, more than 100,000 university students that participated in the generation of topics and a diverse technological showcase. In the end, Emilio Botín highlighted six topics that emerged from the debates and are priorities for the future of the University:
The necessary social leadership of each university to “play a significant role in the social, institutional, cultural and economic development of all countries involved”.
The need to renew educational models with the support of all governments and the private sector to “open the University and face the new demands and expectations of both students and communities”.
The internationalization as a crucial factor in the relationship among universities and their systems in a globalized world.
Educational investments I+D+I as strategic and socially relevant, “directly related to job creation, competitiveness, economical prosperity and social and cultural development”.
The university-business collaboration is essential “to effectively use all knowledge in favor of economical, social and entrepreneurial development”.
The digital dimension of the University that aims to integrate digital practices at an institutional level, as “a primary challenge for universities”.
A global commitment
The President of Universia emphasized that the Rio Charter “represents no only a declaration of principles but also a magnificent plan for the Ibero-American universities to play a relevant role in the years ahead”. Emilio Botín closed his speech calling upon regional and world institutions, businesses and universities to be fully engaged in order to “work diligently on the diffusion of the takeouts generated by this Meeting and to make the Rio Letter widely known so that concrete plans and schedules can be implemented”.
In this sense, Botín has emphasized the efforts of Banco Santander and Universia to attain the set goals while announcing the investment of 700 million Euros (945 million US dollars) to university projects in the next four years, of which 40% will be fueled to scholarships for the access national and international mobility of students and professors; 30% will be used to foster research, innovation and entrepreneurship at universities. The remaining 30% will be used to support academic projects and initiatives aimed at modernizing and incorporating new technologies to universities.
The 4th Universia International Meeting of Presidents will be held in Salamanca, 2018.
Wikimedia CommonsLeonard Nimoy and William Shatner as Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk in Star Trek, 1968. Frontier Markets - To Boldly Go!
The very essence of the word ‘Frontier’ conjures the idea of being on the edge; the wild Frontier, the final Frontier, the new Frontier, the very limit of civilization and so on. Indeed, to be there, from an investment perspective, requires investors, in the words of Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, to ‘boldly go’ with Captain Kirk creating the first truly global example of the cursed split-infinitive!
Of course it is hardly surprising that Frontier market assets have captured the attention of many investors over the past few years lured by the prospect of higher potential returns
than more traditional emerging markets and certainly in relation to developed market yields while maintaining a low correlation to mature markets and other risk assets.
For a number of years Frontier markets were regarded as a rather one dimensional story, with growth driven by an abundance of commodity resources. Certainly, sustained demand for commodities from both developed and developing markets such as China and India has been supportive for many resource- rich Frontier economies.
However, improving macroeconomic policies, greater political stability, better informed decisions and the creation of (politically) independent and well-managed institutions have also helped to drive strong growth in many non- resource rich countries. Tanzania for example carried out comprehensive structural reforms in the 1990’s, improving the domestic economic environment and encouraging significant donor flows and foreign direct investment and there are many other similar examples.
In many cases growth has been achieved without causing overheating. We believe inflation has generally been relatively well contained, exchange rates have generally stabilized while public sector and external debt levels have also fallen.
Today growth is also supported by young, growing populations which have caused many Frontier market workforces to grow more rapidly than the population dependent on it, freeing up resources for investment in economic development. This is known as the ‘demographic dividend’, which can help to improve per capita income, domestic consumer spending and lead to more sustainable economic growth. This combined with improvements in basis infrastructures such as roads, railways, energy plants and airports is helping to drive the smooth functioning of the production function, the efficient allocation of labor and transportation of goods, and, more generally, communication and has boosted business activity.
In terms of investment opportunities, Frontier markets are arguably most associated with equity markets, having benefited from the introduction of several Frontier equity indices in 2007. The frontier market bond universe has a relatively small dedicated investor base however the introduction of the JP Morgan NEXGEM hard currency bond index in December 2011 has brought frontier market bonds more toward the mainstream and stimulated additional demand. Over time, we believe the Frontier market bond universe will gain in appeal as liquidity improves and risk premiums decline, much as we have witnessed in mainstream emerging markets over the past several decades.
We believe it is essential that investors approach Frontier markets pragmatically. For every three or four good examples of improved political and economic development there will be a frontier economy that has shown scant signs of change – and at the margin deteriorated. But we would argue these are becoming the minority. However, because they exist it is essential that investment is made after careful assessment of the risks.
The case for Frontier markets therefore extends beyond simply providing the potential for higher return to more mainstream emerging markets and exhibiting a low correlation to other risk assets.
Digging deeper, Frontier economies are supported by improving macroeconomic policies and institutions, a burgeoning working population and investment in key infrastructure. Frontier economies will no doubt need some time to catch up with more economically developed countries but we believe patient investors stand to benefit over the medium to long-term.
Opinion column by Kevin Daly, Senior Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets Debt, Aberdeen Asset Management
When Panama became an independent nation, the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt had the foresight, conviction and political capital to finance the canal that ultimately connected two oceans, changed the world of shipping, and helped usher in the global economy.
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics.
It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. This seven-part, fourteen hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962. Over the course of those years, Theodore would become the 26th President of the United States and his beloved niece, Eleanor, would marry his fifth cousin, Franklin, who became the 32nd President of the United States.
The series encompasses the history the Roosevelts helped to shape: the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. It is also an intimate human story about love, betrayal, family loyalty, personal courage and the conquest of fear.
The film is directed by Ken Burns, written by Geoffrey C. Ward, and produced by Paul Barnes, Pam Tubridy Baucom and Ken Burns. The Roosevelts will air from September 14–20 in PBS.
Funding for the documentary was provided by Bank of America; Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Public Broadcasting Service; Mr. Jack C. Taylor; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; National Endowment for the Humanities; Rosalind P. Walter and members of The Better Angels Society, including Jessica & John Fullerton; The Pfeil Foundation; Joan Wellhouse Newton; Bonnie & Tom McCloskey; and The Golkin Family.
Foto: Rivera Notario, Flickr, Creative Commons. Itaú se hace con la totalidad de la entidad de banca privada chilena MCC
Itaú Unibanco Holding Financeira SA, Latin America’s largest bank by market value, agreed on Monday to buy the stake it still did own of Chilean wealth management company Munita, Cruzat y Claro SA‘s brokerage and securities unit for an undisclosed sum, according to Reuters.
Itaú first acquired a stake in Santiago-based Munita, Cruzat y Claro in 2011 to speed up the expansion of Itaú Unibanco’s wealth management and private banking platform in Chile. Currently, Itaú oversees $83 billion in private banking accounts, the largest for a Latin American bank.
In a statement, Itaú said the decision to exercise an option to buy the rest of MCC showcases “its clear commitment to the Chilean market and the vision for Itaú Private Bank to be a leader in Latin America.”
Ramón Suárez will remain as chief executive of MCC, with Alberto Munita, Gastón Cruzat and Eugenio Claro – the founding partners of MCC – will stay in the company’s board, the statement said.
Foto cedida Daniel Romero-Abreu, presidente y fundador de Thinking Heads, ocupará el cargo de CEO de Thinking Heads Américas. . Personalidades del mundo de las finanzas de Miami apuestan por Thinking Heads Americas
Thinking Heads Group (THG), the first agent in the Hispanic world specialized in operating within the globalized market of ideas, is beginning its process of expansion in the region with the intention of broadening its efforts in spreading the ideas, values, projects and knowledge of its clients throughout Latin America and the USA. With a potential market worth over 2,500 million dollars that includes personal, digital, literary and on-trend contents, THG aspires to become the Thought Leadership Hub on a worldwide scale, based on the application of its unique management model on personal positioning.
Miami – the enterprise node par excellence among the different American regions – has been the city selected to begin on the expansion project. A project that anticipates, over the next two years, the opening of three more offices across the region, as well as the incorporation of top-level figures from all over Latin America into the Group’s portfolio of clients.
In its launch, Thinking Heads Américas will put into practice the methodology developed by some of the world’s most prestigious thinkers: the management of personal positioning, through the generation and diffusion of knowledge. Thanks to this, personalities like Felipe González, Ricardo Lakes or Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero have been able to contact those institutions that have wished to draw on their ideas to improve the environment in which they operate. And most importantly – it always engages the capacity of reflection and thought of the target audience. For this reason, THG has already staged more than 6,000 public appearances, ensuring its digital audiovisual production contents were a formative element of success for thousands of directors and companies.
In addition, it has advised and promoted the works of hundreds of authors and has planned the personal positioning strategy for more than 80 personalities of various scopes. Amongst them are the economists Jose Carlos Diez and Carlos Rodriguez Braun; the lawyer and ex-minister Ana Palacio; the athletes Toni Nadal and Emilio Butragueño; the philosopher José Antonio Marina; the journalist Pedro J. Ramirez and the artist Theo Jansen, as well as various personalities from the world of business, science and ideas.
In order to achieve its objectives, Thinking Heads Américas relies on a group of investors including: Erics Bergasa, Partner in Tagua Capital; Alex Blochtein, General International Manager of Nortek; José Castellano, Managing Director of Pioneer Investments; Eduardo Rabassa, Managing Partner of Amrop Seeliger and Conde US; Pete Pizarro, CEO at Whitney International University System; Ignasi Puig, CEO of SCPF América; Gustavo Cisneros and Steven Bandel, chairman and co-chairman of Organización Cisneros.
The Board of Directors of the new company will be chaired by Steven Bandel, while Daniel Romero-Abreu – chair and founder of Thinking Heads – will hold the post of CEO. Iván Abanades, who was been director of the Thinking Heads office in Barcelona, has been appointed as Director General of Thinking Heads Americas.
Foto: PressCambrabcn, Flickr, Creative Commons. El fondo de pensiones de California otorga a UBS GAM un mandato para invertir en infraestructuras
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and UBS Global Asset Management have formed a strategic infrastructure partnership, Golden State Matterhorn, LLC to pursue infrastructure investment opportunities across core, OECD markets. CalPERS and UBS have made capital commitments of USD 485 million and USD 15 million, respectively, to the partnership.
UBS will be the managing member and it will utilize the services of Infrastructure Asset Management (“IAM”), an investment area within UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business unit. IAM originates and manages direct investments in infrastructure assets globally on behalf of institutional investors from around the world. The team includes senior executives who have been active in the infrastructure and related sectors since the early 1990s.
CalPERS’ Senior Portfolio Manager, Randall Mullan noted, “We are pleased to add UBS Global Asset Management to our roster of preferred partners as we expand our access to infrastructure assets across the globe.”
Global Head of UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business, Paul Moy, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with CalPERS, one of the world’s pre-eminent institutional investors, for this important mandate. We share a common view of good infrastructure investment and the value-add and risk management activities associated with these investments. We are now working together to put this view into practice.”
GSM LLC was established on June 30th, 2014 and is actively considering infrastructure investments opportunities with the goal of making two to four investments over the next few years.
Foto: db, Flickr, Creative Commons. BNP Paribas Securities Services le compra Prime Fund Services a Credit Suisse
BNP Paribas Securities Services, a global custodian with USD 9 trillion in assets under custody, has announced that it has agreed to acquire Prime Fund Services (PFS), a leading provider of fund administration, custody and banking solutions for alternative investment managers, from Credit Suisse. The move is part of BNP Paribas Securities Services’ strategy to develop its global fund administration franchise.
The transaction will result in a global fund administrator dedicated to alternative investment managers that will service over USD 231 billion of alternative assets and will be ideally positioned to support the convergence of traditional and alternative managers.
Clients will benefit from an enhanced, full service offering that brings together PFS’ administration expertise in the alternative investment sector and BNP Paribas Securities Services’ extensive custody and depositary network, and global reach, according to BNP Paribas Securities Services.
PFS employs staff in Europe, Asia and the United States. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2015.
Despite falling stock markets and a decline in the peso versus the dollar, Argentina remains in defiant mood regarding its “technical default”.
The stumbling point is the so-called ‘vulture’ funds (a group of US hedge funds), which had rejected a renewed offer from the government. The Argentinian government is refusing to offer more to placate these holdouts. Judge Thomas Griesa is insisting that Argentina must pay the holdouts in full at the same time as holders of its performing debt.
To understand the problem you need to go back a little in Argentina’s history. Having initially defaulted on its debt in 2001, the vast majority of bondholders – around 93% – agreed to a settlement in 2005 and 2010. However, a small group of holdouts refused to settle. A rights upon future offers (RUFO) clause, however, was written into the settlements in 2005 and 2010. Essentially, this clause means that if better terms are agreed with the holdouts then the same terms need to be given to those who had settled in 2005 and 2010, which would vastly increase the cost of any settlement.
The situation remains highly fluid and hinges on a complex legal and financial transaction. At the time of writing, there are plenty of headlines in the media, according to Henderson Global Investors. There is talk of a potential deal in which a consortium of banks would buy the bonds from the holdouts and then attempt a fresh negotiation with the Argentinian government, either in the near future or maybe after the expiry of the RUFO in December 2014.
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA) is reported to rule on 1 August on whether the missed bond payments mean that credit default swaps (CDS) have been triggered on Argentina’s overseas securities. Also at stake is the issue of ‘cross-default’, where holders of Argentina’s foreign currency bonds might invoke a ‘cross-default clause’ in their bond holdings and demand immediate payment.
Steve Drew, Head of Emerging Market Credit at Henderson Global Investors comments: “In terms of ability to pay, from Argentina’s perspective it wants to avoid paying a lot more than it has to. The expiration of the RUFO clause in December 2014 offers a potential exit strategy as it would allow Argentina to negotiate better terms with the holdouts without triggering additional payouts to those bondholders who settled in 2005 and 2010.
“In terms of willingness to pay, there is no love lost between the Argentinian government and the holdouts, with the government staking a lot of political capital on not paying any more to what it sees as a collection of opportunists. A scenario that might allow both sides to save face is for the holdouts to sell their bonds, probably at a discount to existing prices, to a consortium of banks who would then negotiate with the Argentinian government. Such a scenario might occur as early as the first quarter of 2015, with the banks receiving a price higher than the 2010 settlement but lower than that demanded by the holdouts. In such a situation, Argentina could be welcomed back into the capital markets fold within 1-2 years as markets tend to be quite forgiving when there is an appetite for yield and a lack of similar opportunities. Of course, the situation is highly fluid and I expect we will learn more over the coming days and weeks.”
Christopher Palmer, Director of Emerging Markets Equities comments: “This is largely a US-judicial driven situation and, frankly, has had little or limited impact on Argentinian assets in the long term.
“We are looking through this to the elections next year, when we anticipate a more market-friendly government to be elected. In our view, this is the last gasp of the populist Kirchner government that has drawn its battle lines. We believe a solution will ultimately be worked out because the amount outstanding – even if holdouts were paid in full – is around $1.5 billion (provided the RUFO clause is not triggered), which is small relative to the size of the Argentinian economy.”
