Photo: Munerabig. SURA Now Showing Growth in El Salvador
According to La República newspaper, Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (SURA)has recently informed the financial watchdog Superintendencia Financiera about the creation of a new subsidiary in El Salvador.
To that effect, SURA stated that the company would be called Suam Corredora de Seguros, with a capital base of 50.000 dollars.
The SURA Group’s participation in the organisation will be indirect, through its affiliate Sura Asset Management, which owns 99% of the new company.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Miletics Balazs
. Los salarios de los CFO y tesoreros registran el mayor aumento entre los profesionales financieros en 2012
North American finance professionals continue to see pay raises, but percentage increases fell last year for all but the executive tier, according to a survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). Average salaries for professionals in finance departments of corporations increased by 3.4 percent in 2012.
The 2013 AFP Compensation Survey provides base salary and bonus information for jobs in the finance profession for calendar year 2012 as well as data on base salaries effective on January 1, 2013. AFP has conducted this survey for 25 years.
At the executive level, the average percentage increase was 3.8 percent, up from 3.3 percent in 2011 and higher than in any year since 2008. Among executives, CFOs and treasurers reported the highest increase at 4.3 percent each.
“A low interest-rate environment, increased regulations around the world, complex financial technologies and heightened risks, are a few of the challenges that treasurers and CFOs face,” said Jim Kaitz, AFP’s president and CEO. “Their salary increases reflect the level of responsibility that companies place in their treasurers and CFOs.”
Management-level professionals reported an increase of 3.5 percent in 2012, down slightly from 3.7 percent in 2011. Staff-level professionals saw a 3.1 percent increase, down from 3.5 percent in 2011. Of all tracked job titles, however, Assistant Cash Managers received the largest salary increase in 2012 – 4.7% on average.
Advanced degrees and certifications were linked to higher salaries, especially at the staff level, where MBAs earned about 19.2 percent more than peers without an MBA, but the percentage difference tended to shrink to 8.1 percent at the executive level. Professionals with a Certified Treasury Professionals TM credential at the staff level earned on average eight percent more than their uncertified peers.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: U.S. Department of Agriculture. BNY Mellon planea incrementar un 50% su fuerza de ventas en wealth management
BNY Mellon is rolling out a major two-year recruiting campaign to increase BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s sales force by 50 percent. In addition, the firm intends to add private bankers and mortgage bankers, portfolio managers and wealth strategists as well as additional sales support staff.
The campaign represents an important new phase in BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s multi-year growth strategy to continue to build presence and capabilities in the US and globally. Despite the sharp economic downturn of 2008, in the past four years BNY Mellon Wealth Management has grown its footprint both organically and through acquisitions. During that time, the firm has made acquisitions in Toronto and Chicago, opened new offices in Dallas, Washington and the Cayman Islands, and added two new offices in Florida, where it now has a total of seven locations. With this initiative, the firm plans to strengthen the sales teams in its current locations and establish offices in other key wealth markets.
By the end of last year, BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s total client assets reached a record high of more than $188 billion, making it one of the 10 largest US wealth managers in 2012, according to Barron’s.
“BNY Mellon is deeply committed to building on the strong momentum we’ve seen in our wealth management business over the past several years,” said Curtis Arledge, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management. “The wealth management business is an integral part of BNY Mellon Investment Management. As part of a long-term growth strategy, we are dedicating substantial resources toward strengthening wealth management’s global distribution capabilities and team.”
Foto: Ngsyatowuahg . La fortuna de las 15 mujeres más ricas de China supera los 30.000 millones de dólares
“Female entrepreneurs in China have played an integral role in the country’s growth story,” Mykolas Rambus, CEO, Wealth-X, said. “In the cut-throat world of business, these women have outperformed many of their male counterparts to join the ranks of China’s wealthiest individuals.”
Only three out of the 15 women on the list derived their fortunes from inheritance. The combined wealth of the top 15 exceeds US$30 billion. Eleven women on the list are entrepreneurs. One is an executive at a conglomerate. Here are the top fifteen:
Real estate wealth dominates the list, as total wealth attributed to the sector comprises over 60% of the combined net worth of the 15 wealthiest Chinese women. This reflects the strong potential for growth in the sector even as it grapples with property cooling measures enacted by the government.
Mr. Rambus added, “Wealth creation in China is inextricably linked to real estate. Our list also reflects the reality of China’s real estate market; that increased investment is not only observable in residential and commercial properties, but also luxury hotels and clubhouses. This has given rise to a demand for diverse architectural services, such as environmental landscaping. Indeed, some of China’s wealthiest women are transforming the country’s real estate market.”
Morgan Stanley today announced the expansion of its longstanding partnership with Feeding America through a new $8 million commitment to its Fill the Plate program and an expanded employee volunteer initiative with the organization. Feeding America is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity and partners with Morgan Stanley on a range of programs including:
Individualized awards to local food banks over the next four years, including grants given this spring to 27 food banks, tailored to best serve the child and family nutritional health needs in each community;
Financial support of cutting-edge research to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of child hunger-relief programs;
Continuing assistance for the National Produce program that helps bring fresh produce to families in need across the United States through a network of 61,000 Feeding America partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters; and
Continuing assistance for the BackPack program that provides free backpacks with food staples so children who usually receive reduced or free lunch at school can get the nutritious meals they need over weekends or long school breaks.
In this latest phase of Morgan Stanley’s Fill the Plate initiative, awards to local food banks will total more than $1 million each year for the next four years. The innovative design for this grant-giving allows individual food banks to select hunger-relief programs that most effectively match their local population and capabilities. The awards provide groundbreaking flexibility to Feeding America and its hunger-relief network of over 200 food banks nationwide.
“With more than 16 million children in the United States in danger of going hungry, we know that we can’t solve this issue alone,” said Bob Aiken, President and CEO of Feeding America. “This historic gift by Morgan Stanley shows the true commitment they have to help us fight hunger in all of our communities. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in looking for ways to solve this problem.”
For 50 years, the Morgan Stanley Foundation has supported employee communities and innovations in pediatric health through initiatives such as its Global Alliance for Children’s Health. Through Fill the Plate, Morgan Stanley is dedicated to addressing food insecurity. Currently, one in five children in the U.S. does not have enough to eat, according to Feeding America’s 2010 Hunger Study.
Wikimedia Commons. El Diario Las Américas, de vespertino a matutino después de 60 años
“Diario Las Americas” announces that beginning May 21, 2013, it will become a 24/7 publication. Originally an evening publication, it will now become a morning newspaper and its subscribers will have access to the news early in the morning and it will now be published seven days a week, Monday through Sunday.
Furthermore, with the goal of becoming closer to its readers each passing day, the newspaper will increase its number of pages and sections.
Considered by many to be the most influential daily newspaper within the Spanish-speaking community in South Florida, “Diario Las Americas is capable of influencing the political agenda and becoming the main source of information about what is taking place in the Miami-Dade Hispanic community”. Moreover, it is a publication recognized with significant prestige throughout the rest of the United States and Latin America, said the paper in a statement.
“The future of the print media rests on three fundamental pillars: exclusive content, investigative reporting and opinion from renowned columnists. At Diario Las Americas we are working earnestly with the goal of making a difference in terms of our competition,” said Manuel Aguilera , Editor of Diario Las Americas. “The option of being present every morning, 365 days a year, is going to allow us to become even more indispensable in the life of the people of South Florida. We aspire to be a necessity in the daily life of the Hispanic family.”
Founded in 1953, Diario Las Americas has written the history of daily events in Spanish in South Florida, the United States, Latin America and the world. The Diario has been and will continue to be an indispensable source of information for the Hispanic community, which represents 17% of the population in the United States. Under the leadership of its Editor, Manuel Aguilera – previously editor of renowned newspapers in the Spanish and American markets – the newspaper is published in Miami and works with a group of highly regarded national and international correspondents.
The content of Diario Las Americas includes opinion articles, investigative reports, information about the South Florida community, society, daily classified ads, and special offers, among others. Its sections include politics, finance, sports, entertainment, interviews with personalities, theme reports, popular music, books, fashion, health, beauty, theatre, fine arts, calendar of events, night life and social events.
Foto: Mauro Cateb. Bestinver y la estrategia de dividendos de ING IM, las más “value” para invertir en Europa
What is pure value and what is pure growth when we are talking about investing in European equities?
amLeague summarizes the information derived from the AlphaValue rankings in order to have a clear overview of the Growth and Value profiles of the 22 asset managers present on the Euro and Europe Equities mandate.
For the European equities mandate the Spanish value asset management team led by Francisco Garcia Paramés from Bestinver leads the value ranking, followed by Federal Fianance Gestion. On the growth side, more heavily tilted toward the extremes of the diagram, we find another French asset manager, Delubac Asset Management, followed by BNP Paribas IP.
Looking at the Euro mandate, ING IM is leader on the value side with the team formed by Nicolas Simar and Manu Vandenbulck focused on dividend sustainability. The second most value oriented portfolio within the 22 mandates followed by amLeague is managed by Marc Renaud and Yohan Salleron in Mandarin Gestion. On the growth side, the leader is Jeremy Whitley and his team, from Aberdeen, and Roche-Brune Asset Management.
According to amLeague, the assessed indicators emphasize the specific approaches adopted by each asset manager and therefore provide investors with comparable, transparent and up-to-date information. The assessment is held by Alphavalue which analyses variables such as fundamental upside, dividend yield, and return on equity of the portfolio for the value score, and operating cash flows, EPS growth, sales growth, book value per share growth of the portfolio for the growth score.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Raygeorge. Morgan Creek Capital Management adquiere el negocio de alternativos de Signet Capital Management
Morgan Creek Capital Management today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire the Alternative Funds business of Signet Capital Management Ltd., a European-based institutional fixed income investment firm. Signet’s Alternative Funds business has approximately $700 million in assets under management.
Under the agreement, Signet will contribute its funds and senior investment management team to Morgan Creek’s platform, where they will apply their global fixed income experience for the benefit of Morgan Creek clients.
The current senior management team at Signet—including the firm’s Founder and Co-Head of Investment Management, Mr. Marquardt, and CEO and Co-Head of Investment Management, Dr. Serge Umansky—will join Morgan Creek and continue their current roles serving clients of Signet’s funds as well as complementing Morgan Creek’s fixed income capabilities. Signet’s offices in London, and Lausanne, Switzerland, will become part of Morgan Creek’s global network.
“We are excited to have Bob, Serge and the entire Signet team join Morgan Creek, a union that will benefit both our present and future clients,” said Mark W. Yusko, the Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek. “This agreement represents a major achievement in our overall strategy to expand our global footprint and bring on talented investment professionals to help address the increasingly complex global investment environment.”
Photo: Thomas.fanghaenel. Can we rely on China’s official statistics?
For a country the size, state of development and complexity of China, the speed with which they produce certain statistics, such as quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth, is surprising. In fact, some analysts have gone so far as to question the fundamental accuracy of the numbers themselves.
There are a number of reasons for questioning the integrity of the data. Some claim that the highly top-down political system and China’s once-in-a-decade leadership change may have increased pressure on Communist Party officials to report strong numbers. China’s legacy of a state-controlled economy may be poorly set up to accurately gauge and measure the burgeoning and evolving consumer demand and importantly, the service sector where output is less about measurable goods. Economists worry that the numbers fail to reflect the new economic reality, or rather that they reflect political imperatives. However, China’s National Bureau of Statistics does not make it easy for independent outsiders to cross-check its work.
So, how do we, as fund managers, get around this issue? We look at the trends in macro data but rather than relying on ‘official’ government statistics, we prefer to use lower level data, such as power consumption growth, refinery throughput and manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) surveys to assess the strength of economic growth. Meanwhile, across all emerging markets, auto sales provide a useful barometer of consumer demand.
Figure 1: China auto market monthly sales overview
By combining several alternative data sources and importantly, continuously meeting many companies, we are able to form a composite picture of the overall economy.
Foto: Haitham Alfalah . BlackRock, a por los mercados de bienes raíces de Asia y Europa tras la compra de MGPA
BlackRock today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MGPA, an independently-managed private equity real estate investment advisory company in Asia-Pacific and Europe, significantly extending BlackRock’s real estate investment capabilities in these regions, said the firm in a statement.
The planned acquisition of MGPA’s complete business makes BlackRock a truly global real estate investment manager, with pro forma AUM of approximately $25 billion as of March 31, 2013 and substantial investment teams in the world’s top six markets, which represent 75% of the commercial real estate investable universe. It adds further best-inclass investment teams and capabilities to the BlackRock platform and demonstrates the Firm’s strong commitment to being a leader in real estate solutions.
“Today’s agreement advances BlackRock’s growth strategy in Asia-Pacific and Europe, where we are seeking to enhance our local offerings and build on the Firm’s real estate experience,” said Jack Chandler, Global Head of Real Estate for BlackRock. “It further strengthens our ability to offer clients an unrivaled set of solutions to the challenges of a low-return, high volatility environment, including access to MGPA’s top-performing investment teams and exceptional capabilities in key markets.”
MGPA’s offerings complement BlackRock’s existing real estate investment solutions, with virtually no overlap of people or products. The combined platform will also créate the potential to accelerate growth of MGPA’s business by leveraging BlackRock’s distribution capabilities for institutional and retail clients.
MGPA is focused on real estate funds management, co-investments and separate account mandates for institutional investors, offering products across the risk/return spectrum, including development, and has $12 billion in AUM as of March 31, 2013.
With an on-the-ground presence in 13 offices in Asia-Pacific and Europe, MGPA will augment BlackRock’s real estate investment platform with its pan-Asian and pan-European investment capabilities and complementary geographic footprint.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The financial impact of the transaction is not material to BlackRock earnings per share. Terms were not disclosed. MGPA was advised by Berkshire Capital Securities LLC.
