Foto: Avenue. RobecoSAM da el pistoletazo de salida a su análisis anual de sostenibilidad
Every year RobecoSAM invites the 2,500 largest companies in terms of free float market capitalization from all industries to participate in its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). In addition, 800 companies from the emerging markets are invited to participate and gain eligibility for inclusion in the recently launched DJSI Emerging Markets. The CSA is the research backbone for the constructions of all the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). After the assessment, companies are included in the DJSI World if their sustainability performance ranks among the top 10% of their industry peers.
800 companies from the emerging markets are invited to participate and gain eligibility for inclusion in the recently launched DJSI Emerging Markets
The CSA focuses on a company’s long-term value creation with over 100 questions on financially material, economic, environmental, social and corporate governance practices. Over half of the questions are industry-specific as RobecoSAM is convinced that industry-specific sustainability risks and opportunities play a key role in a firm’s long term success. The other half includes questions on general sustainability issues such as corporate governance, product stewardship and talent attraction and retention.
The assessment process has continuously been refined over the years. This year, RobecoSAM has aligned several of its Climate Strategy questions with corresponding questions asked by CDP, the provider of Climate Disclosure abd Climate Performance Leadership Indexes. This will reduce the workload for 90% of DJSI participating companies which also respond to the request for climate change information through CDP.
Further, the 2013 CSA and DJSI family will be aligned with the Global Industry Classification System (GICS), thus meeting commonly accepted sector classification standards. The switch to GICS, which is a widely used standard in the financial industry, will therefore allow the DJSI to become more attractive for investors as it meets the need for one complete and consistent set of global sector and industry definitions. The changes will be implemented into all the indices. This means that the former 19 ICB super sectors will be replaced with 24 GICS industry groups, and the 58 RobecoSAM sectors will be replaced by 59 RobecoSAM industries.
Foto cedidaRichard Pease is manager of the Henderson European Special Situations Fund, the Henderson European Growth Fund and the Henderson Horizon European Growth Fund. Henderson: Identifying value in Europe
As we are bottom-up stock pickers, macro views are not a key determinant of how we shape our portfolio. That said, a more positive macro backdrop will support our convictions. Although eurozone headwinds continue in the form of political deadlock in Italy, the Cypriot banking crisis and rising peripheral bond yields, a number of global equity markets remain close to five-year highs. Clearly, the recent Italian election result has provided a setback to Europe but this seems unlikely to cause an imminent return to euro fragmentation. On the contrary, there have been a number of recent positive signals for European equities; the return of Portugal to the debt market and signs that funding conditions continue to ease for European banks. Accelerating merger and acquisition (M&A) activity and a surge in buy-back announcements has also lent support to equities as corporates have put excess cash to work. Global M&A volumes in February surpassed that of last year’s while buy-back announcements in 2013 currently stand at a 20-month high.
Looking at the IMA monthly fund flow data, there has been a steady increase in the level of gross sales into the European ex UK equity sector – see chart. As Europe’s recovery gains traction and as gross domestic product growth forecasts increase, we would expect investor sentiment to improve and for fund flows to increase further, which should in turn drive up capital values.
Chart 1 – IMA: Gross sales to the Europe ex UK equity sector
Source: Investment Management Association (IMA), total gross sales by period (retail and institutional), in sterling, Jan 2012 to Jan 2013.
While we do not like to adopt a macro view, we do have a focus on buying good quality global players which originate from Europe but which are not entirely vulnerable to the region’s woes. Our portfolio is largely composed of companies with lots of free cash flow generation, on low valuations and with a good history of delivering strong results and value for shareholders. These companies should prosper even in tough times thanks to their exposure to faster growing economic areas and robust pricing power.
Currently, industrials are a particularly appealing sector and we are attracted to service companies due to their strong balance sheets and recurring revenue streams, such as Kone and Schindler. Kone, the Finnish lift company, has been able to tap fast-growing emerging markets as well as the developed world. The company’s servicing arm, which maintains and refurbishes lifts, accounts for more than half of Kone’s sales. At the other end of the spectrum, we have avoided financials. We remain underweight the sector and do not currently hold any banks. Banks have bounced sharply over the last six months but we continue to prefer service-related businesses with high levels of recurring revenue. However, we do own some high yielding insurance stocks such as Nordic-based general insurance provider Tryg, which is paying an attractive dividend yield, and non-life insurer Gjensidige.
European stock markets have recovered this year and are not as cheap as they once were. However, the Henderson European Special Situations Fund has a portfolio of companies with minimal balance sheet debt, strong underlying cash generation and most stocks have enjoyed excellent track records due to quality management who, in most cases, have significant exposure to their own shares. The underlying portfolio is yielding around 3.2%, and has an adjusted free cash flow yield in excess of 8% compared with other asset classes whose real value may be impaired by government initiatives to generate economic growth. Looking at the 1.9% yield currently earned on 10-year UK government bonds, European equities appear to be a much more sensible and attractive option.
Richard Pease is manager of the Henderson European Special Situations Fund, the Henderson European Growth Fund and the Henderson Horizon European Growth Fund
Foto: Martin St-Amant. Humala encabeza una gira por Asia para promover la inversión en Perú
The president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, and members of Proinversion, the Private Investment Promotion Agency of Peru, will start their promotional road show in Asia on Monday the 8th of April. The road show, organized by Proinversion with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its diplomatic missions in the countries that will be part of the tour and with the support of Promperú and Commercial Offices of Peru Abroad (OCEX will take place in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo; four cities which the Peruvian delegation have identified as having special potential within the Peruvian market. The road show aims to bring the Peruvian and Asian markets closer and to promote Peru as an attractive investment destination.
Named “Invest in Peru: It Is Possible”, the road show will begin in Beijing on the 8th of April with special attendance by the Peruvian President of Peru, Ollanta Humala who will also be participating in the second event, on the 9th of April in Shanghai. The two following events will take place in Seoul and in Tokyo on the 10 th -11th- and 12th of April respectively, coinciding with the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Peru and Korea.
Comprising the Peruvian delegation will be Javier Illescas Mucha, Executive Director of Proinversión; Carlos Herrera, Director of Investor Services, and Rosa María Tejerina, financial adviser of the project ‘the second line of the Lima Metro’. In China, in addition to the Peruvian President, Mr. Humala, the meetings will also include the participation of Jorge Merino, Minister of Energy and Mining, and Carlos Paredes, Minister of Transport and Communication. Representatives from the Geodata, ESAN and Serconsult Groups, in charge of the construction of the second line of the Lima Metro, will also be present. Local banks will also support the road show, as well as Interbank from Peru, in each of the three cities.
The events will include presentations on the historical and commercial relationships between Peru and each host country, as well as talks on the current opportunities for investment in sectors such as transport, telecommunications, energy and hydrocarbons, sanitation and hydraulics.
Jaap van Duijn (1995–2003), Antony Bunker (1971–1983), Donald van Raalte (1959–1971), Mark Glazener (since 2003), Guus van Oostveen (1973–1993) e Izaak Maartense (1988–1995) . El primer fondo de Robeco cumple 80 años rodeado de todos sus gestores
Three centuries of investment experience round one table – an occasion that brought Robeco together for the 80th anniversary of the Robeco NV global equity fund. On Thursday 21 March 2013, the fund’s former portfolio managers discussed the past, present and future. A lot has changed in 80 years. Where the first fund manager Lodewijk Rauwenhoff even sold participating units to clients from his bicycle, the current fund manager, Mark Glazener, requires an entire team to decipher the complex information flows. And yet a great deal remains the same. The quest for quality and low risk stocks is as apparent as ever.
Peter Ferket, Robeco’s head of equity investment, questions the passionate investors – the oldest of which is 93 – on the daily reality of investing. At the table sat Mark Glazener, portfolio manager since 2003, and all his living predecessors: Jaap van Duijn (1995–2003), Izaak Maartense (1988–1995), Guus van Oostveen (1973–1993), Antony Bunker (1971–1983) and Donald van Raalte (1959–1971). Together they have managed the Robeco fund for more than 50 years. The first two fund managers – Lodewijk Rauwenhoff and Ewold Brouwer – are deceased.
Robeco NV was founded on 24 March 1933. This was the second milestone after the formation of the Rotterdamsch Beleggingsconsortium in 1929. What began as a club of wealthy Rotterdammers developed into one of Europe’s largest investment funds, ensuring its survival from the crisis in the thirties. With investment company Robeco as its progeny, its post-war formula of internationally diversified investments in quality stocks became a major success.
What are the key differences in a fund manager’s tasks between now and then? Mark Glazener emphasizes the size of his equity team: “In the past, the fund was managed by a small number of people. Typically now we have a team of three portfolio managers and nine analysts that together administer the portfolio.
But what has stayed the same over those 80-years? Mark Glazener points out that many things stayed the same in his fund: “Someone who buys a Robeco fund, buys a well-diversified portfolio of quality equities, leaving the investment decisions to those who face such matters daily and who buy and sell with care. This is not a fund for cowboys.”
You may access the complete interview through this link
Foto: Akarsh Simha . Schroders completa la compra de STW Fixed Income Management
Further to the announcement on December 17, 2012, Schroders plc (Schroders) announces that its subsidiary, Schroder U.S. Holdings, has today completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the share capital of STW Fixed Income Management LLC (STW), a value-orientated, US investment-grade fixed income manager.
Karl Dasher, Head of Fixed Income, said: “This acquisition accelerates our strategic ambitions in the US by adding top-quartile capabilities in Unconstrained Taxable and Tax-Aware strategies across the duration spectrum. We also deepen our talent base in an investment market that is critical to our success globally. I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues to Schroders and believe we can deliver significant benefits for clients with our combined capabilities.”
Wikimedia CommonsMarinus van Reymerswale. En los mercados emergentes es más fácil amasar fortunas que construir compañías globales
“Emerging Markets: Africa, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East—Joining the Global Ranks of Wealth Creators,“the third in a series of wealth reports fromForbes Insights and Société GénéralePrivate Banking, is based on an analysis of 250 ultra high net worth individuals in 22 countries in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, with an average fortune of $2.8 billion.
“Emerging Markets: Africa, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East—Joining the Global Ranks of Wealth Creators”
The individual fortunes that have been created there, in some cases in just over two decades, are breathtaking. They are not yet up to the levels of the largest fortunes in mature markets, such as the United States and Western Europe, but they are catching up fast considering the short time span since their inception. For example, the average size of the fortunes of the 20 richest individuals are: $24.3 billion in the United States, $20.1 billion in Western Europe, $10.1 billion in Russia, $7.6 billion in the Middle East, $3.2 billion in Central Europe and $2.3 billion in Africa.
The report concludes that it is, in fact, “easier” for an individual in an emerging market to amass a fortune worth a billion dollars than to build a major global company. According to the report, 6% of the world’s 2,000 largest public companies, as listed on the Forbes Global 2000, are owned or co-owned by billionaires from Africa, Central Europe or the Middle East. But as many as 14% of the world’s billionaires on the Forbes billionaires list come from Africa, Central Europe or the Middle East.
Among other key findings from the report:
The openness of the wealthy about their fortunes is lower in emerging markets studied for this report than in mature markets. On a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being not open at all and 10 being very transparent, the Forbes Insights Wealth Panel—composed of editors of Forbes international editions and Forbes wealth analysts—assigned the emerging markets analyzed for this report a score of 4.2, and mature markets a score of 7.3.
The openness of the wealthy about their fortunes correlates directly with the attitudes of their countrymen toward them. The more open the wealthy are about their fortunes, the more their countrymen accept them, and vice versa. In terms of social attitudes towards great wealth, the gap between the emerging and mature markets is just two points, with the Forbes Wealth Panel scoring mature markets at 6.3, and emerging markets at 4.1.
The wealthy in emerging markets analyzed for this report like to display their riches slightly less than their counterparts in mature markets (North America and Western Europe). In terms of wealth display, the Forbes Insights Wealth Panel awarded mature markets a 6, and emerging markets a 5.3, on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being very discreet about wealth and 10 being total display. There are, however, vast regional differences among emerging markets. The Forbes Insights Wealth Panel ranked the wealthy in Africa and Central Europe as the most understated, with Russia and the Middle East the most open in their wealth display.
Foto: MichaelMaggs. La búsqueda de alfa empuja a un tercio de los profesionales de hedge funds a saltarse la ley
An independent survey of hedge fund professionals commissioned by law firm Labaton Sucharow LLP, HedgeWorld and the Hedge Fund Association, revealed that nearly half (46%) believe that their competitors engage in illegal activity, more than one third (35%) have personally felt pressure to break the rules, and about one third (30%) have witnessed misconduct in the workplace.
When asked if they would blow the whistle or report the misconduct, 87% of respondents said they would report wrongdoing given the protections and incentives such as those offered by the SEC Whistleblower Program. This investor protection program has broad extraterritorial reach and offers eligible whistleblowers, regardless of nationality, significant employment protections, monetary awards and the ability to report anonymously. To ensure that adequate funds are available to pay awards, Congress has established a replenishing Investor Protection Fund, which currently has a balance in excess of $450 million.
“While wrongdoing in the hedge fund industry may not be as widespread as many outside the industry believe, it does occur, and people in the industry are aware of it,” remarked Christopher Clair, Managing Editor at Hedgeworld. “It’s only when we eliminate the unfair advantages sought and exploited by some that true alpha can be found.”
“The high percentage of hedge fund professionals that are aware of the SEC Whistleblower Program and are willing to report wrongdoing is extremely encouraging,” said Jordan Thomas, Chair of the Whistleblower Representation Practice at Labaton Sucharow. “Without individuals willing to report possible securities violations, internally or externally, responsible organizations and law enforcement authorities cannot police the marketplace effectively and efficiently.”
The survey’s top ten findings include:
46% of respondents reported that their competitors likely have engaged in unethical or illegal activity in order to be successful.
35% of respondents reported feeling pressured by their compensation or bonus plan to violate the law or engage in unethical conduct, while 25% of respondents reported other pressures that might lead to unethical or illegal conduct.
30% of respondents reported that they had personally observed or had first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace.
87% of respondents would report wrongdoing given the protections and incentives such as those offered by the SEC Whistleblower Program, while 83% of respondents were aware of this important program.
29% of respondents reported that it was likely that they would be retaliated against if they were to report wrongdoing in the workplace.
28% of respondents reported that if leaders of their firm learned that a top performer had engaged in insider trading, they would be unlikely to report the misconduct to law enforcement or regulatory authorities; 13% of respondents reported that leaders of their firm would likely ignore the problem.
54% of respondents reported that the SEC is ineffective in detecting, investigating and prosecuting securities violations.
34% of respondents reported that recent regulation and law enforcement scrutiny will weaken the hedge fund industry.
13% of respondents reported that hedge fund professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal activity in order to be successful and an equal percentage would commit a crime–insider trading–if they could make a guaranteed $10 million and get away with it.
93% of respondents reported that their firm put the best interests of investors first.
“Our members have a deep commitment to corporate integrity,” noted Lara Block, Executive Director of the Hedge Fund Association. “Although some of the findings are troubling, this groundbreaking survey provides valuable insights that will help the industry to further strengthen its investor protection programs and root out any bad actors.”
. Julius Baer completa la integración de Merrill Lynch IWM en Uruguay, Chile, Mónaco y Luxemburgo
According to schedule, Julius Baer transferred further legal entities in four locations in relation to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management (IWM) business on 1 April 2013. The entities involved are in Uruguay, Chile, Monaco and Luxembourg. This represents another major milestone in the integration process which was launched with the Principal Closing of the transaction and the related acquisition of Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) S.A. on 1 February 2013, said the bank in an statement.
The transfers will add substantially to Julius Baer’s existing businesses in Uruguay, Chile and Monaco. In the case of Luxembourg,Julius Baer gains a new foothold with a strong presence.
Boris F.J. Collardi, Chief Executive Officer of Julius Baer Group Ltd., said: “With the addition of Uruguay, where we are now one of the biggest players, and Chile we have expanded our business massively in the fast growing market of Latin America. In Monaco we strongly increase our presence, adding further momentum to our local business development. Moreover, we enter the market in the important financial centre Luxembourg with a substantial client base, which also opens up new business opportunities.”
The financial advisors and client relationships of the concerned entities have been transferred on 1 April 2013, whereas the client assets will be transferred in a staggered manner from Merrill Lynch to the Julius Baer platforms, in line with applicable regulations in the respective markets.
The rebranding of the entities will be completed as soon as possible after receipt of the relevant approvals of name changes from the appropriate authorities.
“The transaction is well on track. This latest step marks another major milestone in the implementation of the integration process. I am very pleased with the good progress made in the last couple of months and am confident that the upcoming transfers will take place as planned,” Boris Collardi commented.
Other major businesses adding substantial scale to follow shortly
The other major businesses to transfer, expected to occur during the remainder of the year, are in Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK. All of them will add substantial scale to Julius Baer’s global network, taking the respective local businesses into the leading group of international private banks in these markets.
The International Wealth Management business of Merrill Lynch outside the US is an excellent strategic fit for Julius Baer, strengthening the Bank’s presence in key growth markets around the globe and significantly enlarging its asset base. The integration phase which was launched in February 2013 is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015, with the bulk of the large entities and businesses transferring in 2013.
Wikimedia CommonsMaria Elena Lagomasino y Santiago Ulloa, founder members of WE Family Offices.. Santiago Ulloa, Maria Elena Lagomasino, and Michael Zeuner launch WE Family Offices
WE is seeking to have a more global presence, reaching out to the US market once their business is already well established in Latin America and Southern Europe. Santiago Ulloa, President of WE, explained in an interview to Funds Society that one of its objectives is to render services to individuals who have assets greater than $100 million.
Ulloa, who was the president of GenSpring Family Office International until the beginning of January, explained the process through which they got renamed to WE. Ulloa along with Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Zeuner, ex CEO and ex executive director of GenSpring, respectively, joined the new project of WE. Lagomasino, who is a veteran in this sector, was the CEO of JP Morgan Private Banking prior to joining GenSpring, while Zeuner has always worked alongside Lagomasino both in JP Morgan and in the final stage of GenSping International.
The three partners repurchased the business -TBK Investments-, which Ulloa sold 5 years ago to the American company, in an operation that was closed at the beginning of the year and in which several employees of the company were admitted as partners. Since then they have been working under the brand WE, which has integrated a hundred percent of its staff and all of its clients. The repurchased business is the international business while the domestic side remains within GenSpring.
Their goal is to build WE into a family office that will persist in time, so that 40 years from now it will be one of the major players and benchmarks in the sector. “We have already been the largest, now we want to be the best”, he emphasized.
WE, which manages Ultra-High-Net-Worth individuals, aims to help its clients in their overall needs, including asset management, taxation, legal, family governance and protocol, among other things, for which a non-discretionary service is offered. “In other words, a true family office”, emphasized Ulloa in his interview with Funds Society.
Ulloa states that WE gets its resources solely and exclusively from an advisory fee that is charged to the client for the services of the family office.
He put a special emphasis on the fact that theway they work allows them to differentiate themselves from many other businesses that have expended in recent times, but which, according to him, cannot claim the same level of independency or transparency.
“All values have been lost, all transparency has been lost. There are many players in the field. The problem that 90% of them have is that they dedicate themselves to financial issues. We are 100% aligned with the client. We are not money managers; we are consultants, strategists for the clients with large assets and we help them in all of the needs they may have, and not exclusively with their financial needs”, he explained.
WE identifies the best managers and puts them at the disposal of the client. They are very interested in private equity, while they are more skeptical when it comes to the hedge funds because they believe that currently there are too many players looking for the same opportunities and there are very few that bring any value.
They have an Investment Committee co-chaired by Ulloa and by Jean Brunel, president of Brunel Associates, who was the CIO of JP Morgan Private Bank in the past. From the committee a macro and a strategic vision is addressed, which is supported by an internal research team along with the support of third parties. “The decisions for asset allocation, strategy and product selection are made here”, he stated.
Foto: Mohnishbahl. ¿Cómo difiere un MBA de hoy respecto al de hace 15 años?
“When Bill Gates was asked about who was Microsoft’s main recruiting competitor he answered: Goldman Sachs”, explains Robert F. Bruner, dean of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. “This reflects that everyone –Wall Street, the consulting businesses, industrial producers- is competing for the same pool of talent”, he adds.
Recruiters must renew their propositions. When a candidate asks “what’s the deal in your company?”, you should be able to answer: “If you work for us, we will teach you to be the very best you can be”.
Robert F. Bruner, discusses the evolution of the MBA program with John Rogers, CFA, president and chief executive officer of CFA Institute in a Take 15 Series video that can be watched in the CFA Institute website. Bruner focuses on the changing perspectives of students towards education and employment, while explaining what recruiters and employers can come to expect out of MBA graduates in the 21st century that may not have been the case in the past.
