As summer approaches, employees are busy planning long-awaited vacations. But a new Robert Half survey shows 39 percent of workers won’t use all the paid vacation time they’re given. The reasons: 38 percent are saving days in case they need them later, while 30 percent fear falling behind at work.
The national study was developed by Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm, and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on 436 telephone interviews with U.S. adults working in an office environment.
Workers were asked:“Do you typically use all of the paid vacation days you are provided by your company?” Their responses:
Yes
58%
No
39%
Don’t know/no answer
3%
Workers who answered “no” were asked: “What is the primary reason you don’t use all of your vacation time?” Their responses:
You want to save time in case you need it
38%
Too much work – you don’t want to fall behind
30%
You don’t like to take time off or vacations
12%
Don’t get any vacation time
10%
Your manager would frown upon it
3%
Something else
7%
“Whether you’re a vacation ‘saver’ or ‘spender,’ it’s important to have balance,” noted Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half. “All work and no play doesn’t just lead to burnout — it also erodes creativity, since stepping out of your routine frequently sparks innovation,” he said. “Fresh perspective is useful in just about any profession.”
McDonald added that managers should lead by example when it comes to saying “bon voyage” to the office. “Supervisors should encourage their teams to take a break and recharge, especially their top performers, who are often the most aggressive vacation savers and most susceptible to burnout. The best way to do this is by taking time off yourself,” he said.
Geopolitical risk and weather have been underpinning commodity prices at large since the start of the year. If the Ukraine-Russia tensions would abate certain segments within commodities like Energy, Precious Metals and Agriculture increasingly may face headwinds. Speculative positioning in WTI crude and Brent crude oil is still very high currently and at risk of reversal, according to ING IM. Within Precious Metals already, the trend in non-commercial net length is down. ING IM increased the underweight Gold (to -2). With ETP gold holdings turning South again and other arguments still in place (global cycle pulse, upward real yield pressure, still high non-commercial positioning, leveling off of Chinese physical demand,..) ING IM sees downside in gold prices.
Speculative length in Agriculture also is high, in particular in Corn. Some colder than normal US weather has delayed corn plantings somewhat. With some US weather normalization expected, US corn plantings will likely catch- up. US Corn acreage may be underestimated. ING IM is increasing its underweight to -2 (from -1).
In the background the theme of a developing El Nino weather pattern has been building. Typically El Nino leads to drought in SE Asia/ Australia and excessive rain in Western South America. Australian drought could hurt local wheat production substantially. Chinese demand for US wheat could rise in such a scenario and global and US wheat balances tighten. Soybean prices could also benefit from South American (Brazil) crop losses.
On the other hand, ING IM states that US Corn production typically outperforms under El Nino. By moving Wheat and Soybean to +1 against Corn -2 ING IM introduces some El Nino optionality in its portfolios.
You may access the full report in the attached pdf file.
Investcorp has announced that David Walsh has joined the firm’s Hedge Funds business. In his new role with Investcorp, Mr. Walsh’s responsibility will be to identify and source emerging hedge fund talent, and to structure and develop relationships with these managers. He will report directly to Nick Vamvakas, Head of Investcorp’s Single Manager Business. Investcorp’s Single Manager Business establishes strategic relationships with emerging managers, providing them with seeding and acceleration capital in addition to distribution and business support.
Commenting on the strategic hire, Lionel Erdely, Head and Chief Investment Officer of the Hedge Funds Group at Investcorp, said, “David has been identifying and working with early stage hedge fund managers for years in his prior roles. We believe his background will enhance our capabilities in identifying and sourcing new hedge fund talent early in their life cycle. His addition is a boost to our seeding and emerging manager program as we work to execute on our plans to significantly grow our investment universe.”
Before joining Investcorp, Mr. Walsh served as a senior member at UBS as part of their Capital Introduction Group, where he was actively involved in all aspects of the prime brokerage business – including originating prospects, sales, and relationship management. Earlier in his career, he helped UBS develop and structure products to provide investors access to alternative investments through the investment bank’s Funds Derivatives Group.
Investcorp is a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products. The Investcorp Group has offices in New York, London, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Investcorp has three business areas: corporate investment in the US, Europe and the Gulf, real estate investment in the US and global hedge funds. As at December 31, 2013, Investcorp had $11.3 billion in total assets under management.
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) has announced that Judith Hardt, Director General, will step down from her role on 23 May.
Judith Hardt has been with FESE since 2005 and has led the organisation through a number of high profile mandates such as the development of the Code of Conduct on Clearing and Settlement for which Judith Hardt was nominated ‘lobbyist of the year’; the review of MIFID to reverse some of the negative impacts of MIFID I and developing industry thinking to improve SME financing. In addition, there have been numerous other regulatory initiatives in which Judith Hardt has helped the FESE steer through review and implementation.
During Hardt’s tenure FESE has become more focused and more effective in promoting the value of regulated exchanges through its activities across numerous mandates and improved interaction with actors in the financial and political landscape within Brussels and abroad.
FESE will commence a selection process to identify a successor.
Christian Katz, President of FESE said “I would like to thank Judith Hardt for all her hard work and tireless dedication to the Federation and our industry over the past nine years. FESE is now more organized and focused due to Judith’s leadership. On behalf of the Board and the entire Membership of the Federation we wish Judith Hardt well in her new endeavours”.
Judith Hardt said “After nearly 10 years at FESE and with the successful outcomes of MiFID II for exchanges, I believe that now is a good time to explore new opportunities. I immensely enjoyed leading this association during a fascinating period of fundamental regulatory overhaul and industry consolidation. I have also been privileged to work with incredible staff. I know that the dedication of the FESE team will ensure a seamless transition”.
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) represents 41 exchanges in equities, bonds, derivatives and commodities through 21 full members from 30 countries, as well as 2 Observer Members. FESE is a keen defender of the Internal Market and many of its members have become multi- jurisdictional exchanges, providing market access across multiple investor communities. FESE represents public Regulated Markets. Regulated Markets provide both institutional and retail investors with transparent and neutral price-formation. Securities admitted to trading on our markets have to comply with stringent initial and ongoing disclosure requirements and accounting and auditing standards imposed by EU laws.
At the end of 2013, FESE members had up to 8,950 companies listed on their markets, of which 8% are foreign companies contributing towards the European integration and providing broad and liquid access to Europe’s capital markets. Many of our members also organise specialised markets that allow small and medium sized companies across Europe to access the capital markets; 1,478 companies were listed in these specialised markets/segments in equity, increasing choice for investors and issuers.
Photo: Tuxyso. LarrainVial Signs an Agreement with U.S. Authorities to Adopt FATCA
LarrainVial has signed an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. tax authority, to adopt the FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), from the date of agreement.
The agreement with the IRS, an institution homologous to the Internal Revenue Service (SII) of Chile, was signed voluntarily by LarrainVial last Friday and before the expected legal time limits. The FATCA rules, which were adopted in 2010 by the U.S. Congress, begin to fully take effect and be obligatory for all financial institutions as from July 1, 2014.
The signing of this agreement is part of the cooperation agreement that the governments of Chile and the United States signed on March 5 to facilitate the implementation of U.S. legislation known as FATCA.
The agreement signed by Larrain Vial with the Internal Revenue Service, includes different LarrainVial Group companies, among which are LarrainVial Corredora de Bolsa (LarrainVial Brokerage); LarrainVial Administradora General de Fondos (LarrainVial General Funds Management); LarrainVial Activos Administradora General de Fondos (LarrainVial Assets General Funds Management), and its subsidiaries in Peru and Colombia.
The FATCA legislation provides for all financial institutions, including Chilean ones, the obligation to cooperate with the IRS by periodically sending information on the accounts or financial products of United States taxpayers (as such term is defined in the rule itself). The account information to be shared with the Internal Revenue Service shall apply only for those who meet that definition, informs LarrainVial.
The main benefit of having signed this agreement is that LarrainVial customers will not be exposed to sanctions by the U.S. tax authority, such as 30% withholding tax, which is the maximum penalty imposed by FATCA regulations.
Photo: Ardfern. Santander will Sell Part of its Custody Business in Spain, Mexico and Brazil
Spain’s major bank will not restrict itself to selling part of its asset management business, as it did last year when it sold 50% of the business to Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic funds for US$1.3 billion.
Furthermore, according to the daily publication “Expansion”, the bank plans to dispose of half its custodial and depository business. Once again, one of the buyers is the equity fund Warburg Pincus, which, together with other partners, is apparently close to grabbing a 50% share of that business. According to the Spanish newspaper, the sale will initially affect the Global Custody & Securities Services business in Spain, Mexico and Brazil, but could later be extended to other countries. Besides those three markets, Santander has custody and depository business in Chile, Argentina and Portugal.
According to market sources consulted by Expansion, Santander’s division responsible for providing securities’ settlement, custody, and administration services, could be valued at between €0.5 and €1 billion.
Gaining muscle at the global level
Although the sale of 50% of Global Custody & Securities could be considered the first step out of the asset custody business, Expansion points out, citing market sources, that the bank’s intention could be quite the opposite, since the bank could be looking for partners which allow it to grow, especially outside Spanish borders, to become a strong player globally.
Following the sale, the bank could guarantee its partners liquidity over the medium term through an IPO, the same formula which the bank has used with Santander Consumer, Santander Consumer USA went public earlier this year, and which it also used with its asset management division. According to Expansion, the other option would be for the bank to sell the other half of its custody business to other international groups such as BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon or State Street.
The impact of regulation
One of the reasons why some companies are planning to sell their custody and depository businesses is the new regulation: UCITS V will increase the depositories’ costs and responsibilities. In this regard, UCITS V regulates three issues: the depositary liability regime; the content of the custody function in respect of the different types of financial instruments and of the function of supervision; and the requirements to act as depositary and the conditions under which this role may be delegated to sub-custodians.
As Ramiro Martinez, director of Gomarq Consulting, explained to Funds Society, the proposal introduces a new harmonized system of “quasi-strict liability” which deems the depositary liable if the assets are lost in custody (including assets transferred to a third party in sub-custody), replacing them with others of the same type or value. For the expert, this new liability regime “significantly increases the risk of the depository role and forces depositors to increase their control and will therefore increase their costs (and will probably involve additional capital requirements for the provision of this service). This will require specialization and the pursuit of economies of scale to absorb cost increases,” says Martinez.
That is why the experts are referring to a certain activity of sales of this business amongst those institutions which do not consider it core business, and its concentration among institutions which have enough financial muscle globally to meet the new requirements.
A few days ago, FIFA spoke out about investment funds in the soccer world, as it intends to regulate them as another vehicle at the service of clubs and players. The web site Iusport.com reports that FIFA approved a circular dated May 12, declaring itself in favor of regulating mutual funds, rather than banning them.
Despite FIFA’s approval, UEFA continues to disapprove of investment funds in the world of soccer. By means of this circular, FIFA seeks a solution to the conflict and the regulation of investment funds in order to provide legal assurance, transparency and clarity as a means of alternative funding for clubs, and to eliminate the current irregularities.
In the circular, signed by Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary, the sporting association explained that they have commissioned two studies to CIES and CDES in order to develop a final proposal. The aim is to raise the issue during the next FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo in mid-June.
Titled “Summaries & Comments of the Study on the Ownership of the Economic Rights of Players by Third-parties”, the circular begins by admitting that the matter of the ownership of the economic rights of players by third-parties has occupied an important place in discussions led by FIFA within the international soccer community, and that its competent committees have included it in their agendas in order to find an effective formula for addressing the issue.
FIFA also maintains that discussions about it have shown that so far, the soccer community has not established a common front to tackle the problem effectively, though apparently most stakeholders recognized that such practices may pose a threat to the integrity of soccer tournaments.
Given the complexity of this phenomenon and the strategies employed in various regions to regulate it, FIFA, as it had notified, commissioned two studies with the general purpose of gathering information on the ownership of the economic rights of players by third parties and about various aspects of this practice, which, in turn, would provide more data to support discussions and initiatives. The two studies have brought together a number of views on the subject from stakeholders in the soccer world, as well as its impact on the soccer sector in general.
FIFA’s primary objective is to tackle this problem from a solid foundation which takes into account all aspects related to this practice, so that it is possible to provide adequate and fair solutions within the framework of a well documented participatory process which includes the stakeholders within FIFA’s competent bodies.
Should you wish to learn more about it you can consult the circular, which is attached in a document.
Foto cedidaEl Celler de Can Roca, Joan Roca, durante su clase a estudiantes de Houston. Foto cedida. BBVA Compass lleva a sus clientes de EE.UU. y Latinoamérica la mejor cocina del mundo
Spanish financial services group BBVA announced Monday it is bringing three of Spain’s most prized personalities to the U.S.: the Roca brothers, whose El Celler de Can Roca has muscled its way to the top of the high-end restaurant world through the Rocas’ wondrous techniques that honor tradition and push culinary boundaries.
The restaurant — run by head chef Joan, sommelier Josep, and pastry chef Jordi — landed on the top of Restaurant magazine’s influential World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2013. At a press conference Monday in Houston, the bank and Joan Roca announced that all three brothers, along with 20 members of their staff, will shutter El Celler de Can Roca for five weeks this summer to travel to Houston and Dallas and recreate their Girona, Spain-based restaurant for clients of BBVA Compass, BBVA Group’s U.S. franchise.
“As part of a global bank, we’re drawn to endeavors that transcend boundaries — cultural, linguistic and, in this case, gastronomic,” said BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sanchez. “The Rocas are universal in their approach to food — bringing together tradition and modernity among other unlikely pairs — and we honor that spirit with this tour.”
During Monday’s press conference, Roca and bank officials announced details of the tour. The summer events in Texas will kick off a series of client dinners BBVA also will sponsor in other countries where it operates, including Colombia, Mexico and Peru. BBVA is sponsoring the chefs’ tour as part of its three-year partnership with El Celler de Can Roca.
Joan Rocaalso detailed the scholarships BBVA is providing for four Texas chefs. Two students from Houston and two from Dallas will have the opportunity to apprentice under the Roca brothers next year in El Celler de Can Roca. The four-month program begins in January. The scholarship includes airfare and housing in Girona as well as training at Spain’s Autonoma University of Barcelona.
“We consider it critical to support talent, and we want to help the next generation of chefs explore their skills and develop confidence in a collaborative environment,” Joan Roca said. “Every year, more than 400 people apply to study in our training program and we are looking forward to working with the students from Texas.”
Also on Monday, Joan Roca taught a master cooking class to a dozen student chefs at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Houston. Chef and television personality Ingrid Hoffmann served as emcee during the class.
Joan Rocais considered a pioneer in sous-vide, a cooking process where food is vacuum-packed and cooked in water. He developed the Roner, a professional sous-vide cooking device. Josep Roca, the sommelier, meanwhile, has won over critics with his unorthodox wine pairings and techniques. And Jordi Roca, the pastry chef, won the World’s Best Pastry Chef Award 2014. The judges called him “part chef, part architect, part magician” and an “eccentric but modest genius,” citing his work recreating famous perfumes in edible form.
BBVA Compass’ Sanchez said the brothers, all at the top of their games in three demanding disciplines, epitomize the collaborative spirit in an industry known for its fierce competition.
“Each of the Roca brothers could go off on his own and build an individual empire that’s quite successful, but they strongly believe that they can do more as a team,” Sanchez said. “That says something powerful to us because that same belief drives BBVA Compass.”
Foto: danielfoster437, Flickr, Creative Commons.. Citi Private Bank anuncia cambios de liderazgo al frente de su Grupo de Family Office
Citi Private Bank announced on Tuesday that William Woodson will join the firm in June as Managing Director and Head of the North America Family Office Group. Mr. Woodson will be based in West Palm Beach, FL and report jointly to Peter Charrington, CEO, Citi Private Bank, North America, and Catherine Weir, Global Head of Family Office Group, Citi Private Bank.
Stephen Campbell, formerly head of the group, has been named Chairman for the North America Family Office Group. In this role, Mr. Campbell will focus on advising the firm’s largest family office and foundation clients in North America and globally.
Mr. Campbell joined Citi in 2011 to build out the Private Bank’s North America family office platform. Since that time the business has grown its AUMs exponentially, becoming a significant part of the firm’s overall offering. Mr. Campbell has more than 25 years of diverse financial industry experience prior to joining Citi, having led investment management and technology organizations for Fidelity Investments in the U.S, Europe and Asia; founding as well as investing in early stage venture companies; and as Chief investment Officer of a family office.
Mr. Woodson joins Citi from Credit Suisse where he was Head of the Ultra High Net Worth and Family Office Business for the North American Private Bank. A tax professional by training, Mr. Woodson spent a decade in public accounting with both Coopers & Lybrand and Arthur Andersen before leaving to run the family office for one of his largest clients. Mr. Woodson was a founding member and Managing Director of myCFO and worked as a private banker with the Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group before joining Credit Suisse in 2007 to lead the firm’s Multi-family Office Practice and Wealth Planning Group.
Mr. Woodson holds a BS degree in Economics from the University of California and a MS degree in Accounting from New York University. “In Steve and Bill we have two exceptional family office resources for our clients. Steve has done a remarkable job leading this key business unit in the past three years and we look forward to its continued growth with Bill at the helm. We recognize that Family offices are as unique as the families they serve and our team’s mission is to help ensure the success of each individual family office we serve,” said Peter Charrington, Citi Private Bank.
“I look forward to helping address the evolving needs of Citi’s family office clients by providing the tailored investment, lending, banking and advisory services they need, and to building lasting relationships with new family office clients who can benefit from Citi’s vast global network of expertise, strategies and services,” said Woodson.
People are not great at assessing relative risk. Most of us know people who are afraid to fly but have no issue with driving long distances. While both have risks, it is generally understood that driving is far more dangerous than flying.
Investing is no different. You can’t avoid risks, but you should at least know what risks you’re taking.
According to one of the recent surveys by MFS Investing Sentiment Insights, many investors have very interesting ideas about the risks of passive investing.
The first finding that jumped out was that 64% of investors thought an index fund was safer than the market. This is a pretty clear example of someone not knowing what they’re buying or how it is designed.
The second finding was even more scarier. When asked why they purchased passive investments, 48% said a major factor in the purchase was “minimal risk.” Imagine how an investor who purchased an equity index fund because of minimal risks will react during the next downturn?
There is a role for both active and passive investments in a portfolio. However, it rarely ends well when we buy something we don’t understand.
