Wikimedia Commons. BTG Pactual Receives Enrollments for 2014 Trainee Program
BTG Pactual has officially opened the window for signing up to its 2014 Trainee Program, which aims to hire young talent with the potential to become the Bank ́s next generation of leaders. Candidates graduating after June 2011 and/or expected to graduate by December 2013 are eligible to participate.
The selection process is open to both Brazilians and non-Brazilians with degrees in the following courses: Business Management, Accounting, Economics, Actuarial Science, Math, Engineering, other Exact Sciences and Technology. Fluency in Portuguese and English is also a prerequisite. The stages include online tests in Math and Logic, Portuguese and English, as well as group dynamics and onsite interviews with the Bank ́s HR team and partners. The job openings apply to BTG Pactual ́s offices in São Paulo and Rio.
The program is scheduled to start in April 2014 and will last for one year. During this period, the candidates will undergo training sessions, exchange experiences with BTG Pactual executives and partners and perform job rotation in areas such as Financial, Fund Administration and Operations.
All trainees will be periodically evaluated and may be formally hired at the end of the program. In addition to monthly remuneration, successful candidates will receive the following benefits: Medical and Dental Assistance plus Restaurant and Food vouchers.
Commenting on the program, Renata Santiago (head of HR at BTG Pactual) said: “In 2013, we selected 50 employees (Brazilians and non-Brazilians). The program is an excellent way to unearth new talent in the market. We are basically looking for young executives whose profile and values match the Bank ́s own, who share a passion for business and who have an entrepreneurial and teamwork spirit”.
The enrollment period is open until 17 November 2013, and candidates can sign up by accessing the career section of BTG Pactual ́s website.
Although my last name might give me away as a Latino, I grew up in Washington, DC; thus conducting business in the Latin American has been as foreign to me as to anyone else from outside the region.
After four years of working and traveling across the southern cone, I have developed a set of guidelines to follow when conducting business around the region, and here are my top five reasons TO BE conducting business in Latin America.
1. Be There.
One of the most important aspects of generating business in Latin America is the “Confianza,” or confidence. You have to gain the trust of future clients, investors and business partners and the only way to do it is by showing commitment and presence. You can surely try the angle of impressing them by calling from your New York or London office, which I myself tried back in 2009, but being present with boots on the ground opens up more doors than any phone call could.
2. Be Connected.
Connections and references are everything in the region. It is always good to have a reference from a friend, client or business partner when conducting business in Latin America. Remember this is a region that sees companies and people coming all the time, and they want to be sure any investment or business they are conducting with you is long term. I came to Argentina with very few contacts and references, and it took me and my business partners almost 9 months to land our first serious client. Till this day, my references are my top way of landing meetings and closing deals with new clients.
3. Be Local.
Anytime I have started doing business in any country, one of my biggest fears is to be perceived as a “Business Tourist”. The main mistake I have seen peers (or competitors in my favor!) make is to assume business stereotypes in the region and assume processes are conducted in the same way it is in the US or Europe. Being local in business means more than learning Spanish or Portuguese; it means learning about the local rules and regulations of the businesses we are offering. This means truly understanding both the competition and the specific regional needs. I offer the same services in Latam to local clients that I do to my US-based clients, but the delivery, execution, and personalization is always different. It might be as simple as the client only needing half of your offerings, or as complicated as adhering to extremely specific local regulations. Whatever the case may be, you must know it first instead of your clients informing you.
4. Be the Expert.
Being the foreign businessman might just be the best selling point and attribute you can use as part of your business development. Being prepared in any meeting and showing you can add value to clients might not be enough in Latin America. Be one step above, and show your expertise in your field of business. After all, any client you are prospecting is also receiving a telephone calls from someone in London, Luxembourg, and another firm just like your’s in the US telling them they can get the job done from afar. I prepare for my meetings by researching who my future client is currently doing business with, the reasons why they have chosen their current business partners and how I add value to relationship. Hint: Letting them know you came to them locally instead of calling them from far away sometimes wins half the meeting, hence my first point.
5. Be Happy.
Chances are your company is looking to expand businesses with clients and investors in Latin America. These countries are becoming extremely wealthy, savvy and welcoming, and I can hardly think of a better time than now to enter the region. If your company is appointing you as the next business developer for the market, make sure you want to be conducting business here, as there are challenges and it is not for everyone. If it is for you, try the make the most of it and have fun! You will be working, but remember that this is the region where it’s ok to be 15 minutes late, wherelunch meetings last 3 hours and where your future clients will open up their doors of their homes for you in the weekends.
So get ready, get involved, and get your boots on the ground. Currently no other region possesses the opportunities and energy that Latin America lends to both the international business and investor. There will surely be a stumbling block or two along the way, but with the appropriate market knowledge it will be more than worth it and will pay off quickly.
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management announced the launch of three new hedged equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the db X-trackers platform. The new funds track MSCI hedged equity indexes and provide direct exposure to several important international equity markets, while aiming to protect against fluctuations in value of the U.S. dollar and non-U.S. currencies. db X-trackers offers the most comprehensive suite of hedged equity ETFs in the U.S.
“Hedged equity ETFs have been one of the fastest growing segments of ETFs by assets, and these three new innovative ETFs address this growing demand by providing investors with more complete exposure to investment opportunities in Asia and Europe. Investors now have the ability to manage their currency risk, while capturing the potential growth in these unique slices of the international market,” said Martin Kremenstein, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Americas− Head of Passive Asset Management.
DBAP, which offers exposure to equities in 12 Asian countries, excluding Japan, joins db X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DBJP) to offer complete investment opportunities across developed and emerging Asian markets, where currencies have increasingly fluctuated relative to the U.S. dollar.
The other new ETFs DBEU, which offers broad exposure to the European Union, and DBUK, which provides exposure to equity securities of the United Kingdom, will join existing products db X-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity Fund (DBEF) and db X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (DBGR) to deliver four distinct ways to invest in the European markets while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the U.S. dollar and non-U.S. currencies.
DBEU, DBUK and DBAP seek investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the MSCI Europe USD Hedged Index, the MSCI United Kingdom USD Hedged Index and the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, respectively.
The MSCI hedged equity indexes have empirically generated greater returns year-to-date than their unhedged index counterparts.
With the addition of these three new ETFs, the db X-trackers platform offers eight hedged equity ETFs, including the following:
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s U.S. exchange traded products (ETP) platform includes 58 ETPs, with approximately$12 billion in assets under management. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s ETP platform was launched in 2006 and has risen to become the fifth largest in the world, with approximately $60 billion in assets under management as of September 09, 2013.
For more information about the ETPs available in the U.S., visit: http://www.dbxus.com.
MetLife and Thayer Lodging Group announced that they have acquired the 365-room Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in a joint venture. MetLife and Thayer Lodging Group purchased the luxury resort from Oasis Cabo LLC. The purchase price was not disclosed.
MetLife is the majority investor in the joint venture with Thayer Fund VI.
“MetLife is pleased to add the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort to our portfolio of hotel properties in Mexico,” said Robert Merck, senior managing director and global head of real estate investments for MetLife. “Our long term investment strategy focuses on attractive opportunities in the U.S. and internationally, as we continue to seek top quality properties in major global markets in 2013. We highly value our relationship with the Thayer Lodging Group and look forward to continuing this partnership in the future.”
Lee Pillsbury, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Thayer Lodging Group, said: “We are happy to partner with MetLife to add this hotel to the Thayer Hotel Investors VI portfolio. Its combination of current high yield and forecasted appreciation make it an excellent investment.”
This is the first acquisition for Thayer outside the U.S. and the second high profile investment with MetLife for the Thayer Fund VI in the last two months. In July, MetLife and Thayer announced their acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco from Host Hotels and Resorts, Inc.
Fred Malek, Thayer Lodging chairman, said: “Fund VI remains aggressive in targeting distinctive North American hotel assets. We believe Los Cabos is an outstanding resort and group destination, which will benefit significantly from our value added approach.” He concluded, “Thayer is very pleased to again partner with MetLife in a hotel investment and we look forward to the continuation of this great relationship.”
Photo: Flickr, Masato Ohta from Tokyo, Japan. Celebrate with Tokyo
Many in Tokyo erupted with delight and excitement following the recent news of the city’s selection as host to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Following a failed bid in 2016, Tokyo edged out rivals Istanbul and Madrid on its way to becoming the first Asian city to host the Games for a second time.
When Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, the event was instrumental to Japan’s economic development and reconstruction. It also served as a platform for Japan to re-introduce itself on the global stage (Its new bullet train debuted the week before the event, showcasing its technological capabilities). Almost 50 years later, the “Shinkansen” train continues to operate at the world’s highest levels of safety and reliability.
Tokyo’s success comes as Japan’s economy is showing signs that “Abenomics” is starting to work. On the day after the Olympic committee announcement, second quarter GDP growth was revised up to 3.8%, from 2.6%—with better-than-expected domestic capital expenditure as the driver of the revision. Other statistics show that deflation is easing while wages are improving.
Tokyo’s Olympic bid was characterized by its mostly low budget appeal, with plans to refurbish existing facilities rather than to build completely new ones. Infrastructure for transportation and accommodations are already well-established in the city. Therefore, though there may be a positive impact on sentiment, the direct economic impact from the Olympics appears likely to be limited. Tokyo’s own assessment is for an economic boost of roughly US$30 billion, which is only 0.5% of GDP. However, I believe the long-term impact the Games may leave on Japanese tourism should not be ignored.
Last year, overseas tourists to Japan totaled roughly 8.4 million people. Though that number is one of the highest in history, it’s a far cry from the 58 million visitors to China or 67 million visitors to the U.S. Tourism’s contribution to GDP for Japan was only 2.1% in 2012, while France and Italy boasted a contribution of 3.8% and 4.1% respectively. Despite having rich tourism resources, Japan’s inbound tourism has been hampered by a lack of effective promotional strategies and the perception that it is an expensive place to visit. In reality, Japan’s prolonged deflation and, more recently, the weakened yen, have brought Japan travel costs down to levels comparable to vacation destinations like Hong Kong and Singapore.
As middle class incomes in Asia rise, the region’s tourism industry seems likely to experience long-term growth. The media attention that the Games will attract could serve as the catalyst to elevate Tokyo and Japan in the mix of potential holiday destinations. Given the already established infrastructure and relatively low base, a tourism boost could have a profound impact on Japan’s economy. Tokyo already reigns as the world’s gastronomy capital as defined by its world-leading total of 323 Michelin Stars. All it needs is more people to come eat.
Opinion column by Kenichi Amaki, Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia
The views and information discussed represent opinion and an assessment of market conditions at a specific point in time that are subject to change. It should not be relied upon as a recommendation to buy and sell particular securities or markets in general. The subject matter contained herein has been derived from several sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of compilation. Matthews International Capital Management, LLC does not accept any liability for losses either direct or consequential caused by the use of this information. Investing in international and emerging markets may involve additional risks, such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. In addition, single-country funds may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than diversified funds because of concentration in a specific geographic location. Investing in small- and mid-size companies is more risky than investing in large companies, as they may be more volatile and less liquid than large companies. This document has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory body.
Northern Trust has appointed Bruce Tang to the Northern Trust Alternatives Group hedge fund of funds team as a research analyst and vice president.
Mr. Tang joins 26 investment professionals on the Northern Trust Alternatives Group fund of funds team. The group develops and manages alternative investment products, including hedge and private equity funds of funds, for institutional and personal clients. The group’s hedge fund of funds products give investors exposure to multiple strategies and seek competitive returns while containing overall portfolio risk. The Northern Trust Alternatives Group has $3.6 billion in assets under management.
“Northern Trust continues to see a growing interest in alternative investments, and we are growing our business to meet that demand,” said Robert Morgan, Managing Director of the Northern Trust Alternatives Group. “Clients and industry observers recognize our group’s success and that has allowed us to attract and retain top talent.”
Tang has more than 14 years of experience and joins Northern Trust from Aurora Investment Management LLC, where he was a senior research analyst on the firm’s investment team. At Aurora, he was responsible for sourcing and monitoring hedge fund investments, providing qualitative and quantitative analysis to the firm’s investment committee. He also conducted due diligence on prospective and existing hedge fund investments across long/short equities, long/short credit, global macro, event-driven, multi-strategy, opportunistic and portfolio hedge strategies.
Additionally, Kristin Norton joins the hedge fund of funds team as a junior research analyst.
Ms. Norton is a recent graduate of Harvard College where she studied East Asian studies and economics. As an undergraduate, Norton interned in Tokyo in Morgan Stanley’s equity research division and Mizuho Venture Capital’s investment research division.
Auerbach Grayson & Company, a New York-based brokerage firm specializing in global trade execution and research for U.S. institutional investors, has announced a partnership with leading investment bank Corredores Asociados, to provide U.S. investors with greater access to Colombia’s capital markets.
Through its exclusive partnership with Corredores Asociados, Auerbach Grayson expects to have more access to Colombian companies than other U.S.-based brokers, while providing its institutional clients with on-the-ground research and increased coverage of investing opportunities throughout Colombia. The partnership also allows Corredores Asociados to expand its institutional equity business by servicing Auerbach Grayson’s clients, including more than 400 of the largest U.S. institutional investors.
“Our recent focus on Colombia is in response to the heightened level of interest and order flows we are seeing from investors looking for exposure to Latin American countries other than Brazil, which comprises the majority of the market capital for the entire continent,” said David Grayson, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at Auerbach Grayson. “By partnering with Corredores Asociados, we will continue to provide our institutional clients with greater coverage and access to Colombia as we see a great deal of opportunity in this emerging Latin American market.”
Auerbach Grayson built its global coverage network by establishing partnerships with local and regional brokers and banks in over 125 markets worldwide with on-the-ground analysts in every region. The firm provides U.S. institutional investors with trade execution and in-depth local equity research from its local partners.
“Our relationship with Auerbach Grayson will enable Corredores Asociados to build stronger relationships with U.S. institutional investors looking for opportunities in the Colombian market, as well as build greater visibility for Colombian companies that are attractive for investments,” said Roberto Murcia Garcia, Managing Director of Equity Capital Markets at Corredores.
Corredores Asociados was recently acquired by Banco Davivienda, the 3rd largest bank in the country which has large banking operations in Central America. As a subsidiary of Davivienda and part of the Grupo Bolivar, the third largest financial group in Colombia, Corredores Asociados continues to strengthen its position in the market with a solid asset backing, technological and a clear strategic approach.
The mid cap segment offers a different type of company than investors find within the large and small cap “bookends” of the market. According to a White Paper by Robeco, the mid cap asset class is characterized by companies that are more successful and mature than those in the small cap arena, which makes mid caps generally less risky than small caps. At the same time, mid cap firms start from a lower baseline in terms of business volume and are generally more nimble than those in the large cap space, which creates more upside potential. U.S. mid caps also present investors with the opportunity to select companies that have “graduated” from small cap status, indicating that their businesses are moving in the right direction.
On a paper signed by Jeremy Zirin, David Lefkowitz and Matthew Baredes, strategists at UBS FS, US mid-caps are highlighted as “the sweet spot” in the equities market due to “accelerating US growth, greater cyclical exposure, upside margin potential and greater exposure to a recovering US housing market”. UBS thinks that the higher beta, greater cyclical exposure and lower dividend yield (which is a positive in a rising interest rate environment), of the mid-cap asset class are the reasons which are driving its outperformance versus large-caps, adding that “this drivers remain in place and would support further gains versus large caps”.
This asset class, which is often under-represented in investor portfolios, has actually had an outstanding performance during the US market recovery.
This graph by Lipper Insight shows that indeed small-and mid-cap funds did outperform large-cap funds. After the first 12 months of the market recovery, small- and mid-cap funds were starting to pull away from large-cap funds. The graph shows that the underperformance of large-caps versus small- and mid-caps was consistent during the last four-plus years.
Moreover, white paper published by Robeco signals that U.S. mid caps have delivered better returns than small and large caps over time, and they have done so without an inordinate amount of volatility. In fact, mid caps have experienced slightly higher volatility than large caps and less volatility than small caps. As a result, mid caps have not just outperformed, but they have done so with a lower level of risk than the rest of the market.
Another way to look at the relationship between risk and return is the Sharpe ratio, a measure of risk- adjusted performance. On this front, mid caps have displayed a superior risk-return profile than that of both small and large companies when measured over multiple time periods.
The small-cap funds universe is widely represented, with a lot of funds investing in this asset class, but finding funds in themid-cap universe is more complicated. Sometimes they are included in the AllCap rankings, mixed with large and small cap funds, in other lists mid-cap is mixed with small-cap funds, making investment decisions more complicated.
According to Morningstar’s non US domiciled category of mid-cap funds, there are two funds with outstanding performance over a 3 and 5 year period: Robecos’s Robeco US Select Opportunities US Equities, and BNP Paribas’ Parvest Equity USA Mid Cap C, (Robeco’s volatility is lower, though).
Other funds with very good 3 year performance are AllianceBernstein’s AB US Small an Mid-Cap, Franklin Templeton’s Franklin US Small-Mid Cap Growth Acc $, Schroder’s Schroder ISF US Small & Mid Cap Eq I USD Acc and Pioneer Investments’ Pioneer Funds – U.S. Mid Cap Value I USD ND.
You may access Robeco’s White Paper on Mid Cap investing through the attached pdf file, or through this link.
Wikimedia CommonsRaymundo Yu, presidente de Threadneedle Asia Pacifico. Threadneedle incorpora un reputado equipo de renta variable asiática a su franquicia en Singapur
Threadneedle Investments announces the appointment of Soo Nam Ng as Head of Asian Equities (Asia), along with four additional prominent hires adding significantly to the firm’s capabilities in the region. All five members of the new team have worked together during their careers. Bernard Lim joins as Senior Fund Manager, Asia Pacific ex Japan; Christine Seng as Fund Manager, Singapore and Australia; Weixiong Liang as Analyst and Wee Jia Low as Senior Associate. They will be based in Threadneedle’s Singapore office.
The new team will work closely with Threadneedle’s long-standing Asian Equities team of seven headed by Vanessa Donegan, which currently manages £3.6bn out of London and Singapore (as at 31 August 2013). The Singapore-based team will focus on further building the firm’s offering for Asian investors.
Soo Nam Ng reports to Leigh Harrison, Head of Equities at Threadneedle. Bernard Lim, Christine Seng, Weixiong Liang and Wee Jia Low report to Soo Nam.
Mr Mark Burgess, Threadneedle’s Chief Investment Officer commented: “We have a strong team-based approach at Threadneedle, with a culture of open discussion, debate and sharing of ideas to give us a global perspective advantage”.
Soo Nam Ng joins Threadneedle from Nikko Asset Management where he was Chief Investment Officer and he managed a team of more than 20 investment professionals including equity and fixed income specialists. Soo Nam is a veteran in the fund management industry, having spent more than 18 years focusing on Asia Pacific ex Japan equity markets and is an award-winning portfolio manager.
Bernard Lim joins Threadneedle from Fullerton Fund Management where he was Senior Vice President, Equities, with responsibility for the firm’s Asia Focus mandates. He was also country specialist for Hong Kong, and covered the technology and energy sectors. Bernard brings 20 years investment experience to Threadneedle.
Christine Seng joins Threadneedle from Nikko Asset Management where she was a Portfolio Manager and was responsible for an award winning dividend yield fund. Christine has been in the fund management industry for the last 14 years.
Weixiong Liang joins Threadneedle from Nikko Asset Management where he was a Portfolio Manager.
Wee Jia Low joins Threadneedle from Nikko Asset Management where he was an Equity Analyst.
Citi announced the launch of e for Education, a three-month initiative to raise funds for education-related nonprofits around the world. Beginning October 1st and through December 31, Citi will donate funds to several charities based on a percentage of institutional client FX transaction volumes executed through its electronic trading platform, Velocity.
Citi Velocity is an award-winning proprietary FX electronic trading platform for institutional clients. It provides real-time pricing with one-click trading for multiple foreign exchange products, including spot, forwards, swaps and options. Citi Velocity is used by a large number of Citi’s institutional clients globally not only for trading but also as their source for research, economics, FX market color and post-trade activity.
“We believe e for Education is the first and certainly the largest effort by a firm seeking to translate its electronic FX trading activity into philanthropic dollars,” said Jeff Feig, Citi’s Global Head of G-10 FX. “Citi believes that access to quality education is the key to unlocking a lifetime of opportunity and we are excited to launch an initiative that will benefit youth around the world.”
Six organizations, spanning a range of geographies and core focus areas, were selected to benefit from the e for Education initiative. Funds will be donated to each organization based on the geographic location of individual Citi Velocity clients, although users can also override the default and earmark their corresponding donation to any e for Education organization of their choosing. The e for Education beneficiaries include:
Civic Builders (North America) Civic Builders partners with the nation’s best educators to build state-of-the-art, low-cost charter schools for children and families in underserved neighborhoods.
EMpower (Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa) supports local organizations in emerging markets countries that provide at-risk youth with the tools and resources they need to lead healthy, productive lives.
No Greater Sacrifice (North America) is dedicated to the children of fallen and wounded U.S. military service members by delivering scholarships and resources to improve their quality of life through the pursuit of higher education.
Room to Read (Asia/Africa) seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in the developing world by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.
Teach First (United Kingdom) works towards a day when no child’s educational success is limited by their socio-economic background.
Uncommon Schools (North America) starts and manages outstanding urban public charter schools that close the achievement gap and prepare low-income students to graduate from college.
Citi, one of the largest FX providers in the world, is not setting specific fundraising goals, but has also not imposed a cap on the maximum amount that may be donated. Total donations will be driven purely by client FX transaction volumes.
“Citi has a long history of supporting educational ambitions, whether it’s through our businesses or through the work of the Citi Foundation,” said Bapi Maitra, Citi’s Global Head of Institutional e-Commerce Sales. “The e for Education initiative builds on Citi’s track record of connecting students around the world to educational opportunities and support services that empower them to improve their lives.”
