Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Victor Soares/ABr. (Agência Brasil) . Deutsche Bank nombra a Don Linford director regional de Servicios de Seguridad Directa para América Latina
Deutsche Bank’s Global Transaction Banking (GTB) division today announced the appointment of Don Linford as a Director and Regional Head of Direct Securities Services (DSS) for Latin America.Don Linford, who will be based in São Paulo, will start on March 19.
Linford has joined the Bank with more than 25 years of global business experience in Latin America. Previously, he served as the Product Head for International Security Services for Latin America with Itaú Unibanco. Prior to that, he held the positions of Regional Network Executive for Americas and Global Manager of Business Intelligence and Strategic Planning at JP Morgan Chase, based in the United States. Linford also worked for Mellon Trust and BankBoston in Massachusetts, US.
Deutsche Bank’s Trust & Securities Services business, part of Global Transaction Banking, is a provider of trustee, agent, depositary, registrar, SPV management and related services for a wide range of financial structures and transactions. It also offers both mutual and alternative fund administration and provides securities custody, clearing and agency lending services from a global network spanning more than 30 markets.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Maros M r a z . Scotiabank y su socio Bank of Beijing, autorizados para operar como gestora de fondos en China
Scotiabank announced this friday that along with its joint venture partner Bank of Beijing, the Bank of Beijing Scotiabank Asset Management Co. Ltd. has received regulatory approval for a license to operate as a fund management company in China. This is the first fund management license issued in China under a new round of pilot programs allowing commercial banks to set up fund management companies.
As part of this joint venture, Bank of Beijing holds a majority interest in the fund management company while Scotiabank and General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals both hold minority stakes.
High saving rates among citizens, pace-setting economic growth and an increase in China’s working-age population are expected to drive asset growth of Chinese fund management companies. As at the end of 2012, total Assets Under Management (AUM) in the industry stood at RMB2.79 trillion (US$450Bn).
Foto: Anthony Bailey. Emerging Markets: don't you see is the consumer?
Emerging markets indices have underperformed the developed world since the credit crisis. Marten Hoekstra, Chief Executive of Emerging Global Advisors, explains to Long View’s John Authers that the indices miss the strength of the consumer sector.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Adam L. Clevenger . Morgan Stanley entra en Auerbach Grayson para reforzar su presencia en emergentes y frontier markets
Auerbach Grayson & Company, a New York based brokerage firm specializing in global trade execution and exclusive in-depth research for U.S. institutional investors, announced today that it has sold a minority stake to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Following the transaction, Auerbach Grayson will become a Morgan Stanley executing broker in certain emerging and frontier markets, particularly in markets where Morgan Stanley has no local presence.
“We are excited to be providing Morgan Stanley with access to our network of local brokers and view this as a critical step in putting more emerging and frontier markets on the investment map,” said David Grayson , Managing Director and co-founder at Auerbach Grayson.
Auerbach Grayson built its global coverage network by establishing partnerships with local and regional brokers and banks in 130 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. Upon request, Morgan Stanley will direct interested clients to Auerbach Grayson.
“We are delighted to have made this investment and look forward to working with Auerbach Grayson to address opportunities in emerging and frontier markets,” said Gary Offner , a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Equity division.
Lazard Middle Market served as financial advisor to Auerbach Grayson. Auerbach Grayson will continue to remain an independent entity following Morgan Stanley’s investment.
Foto cedidaBlackrock/Fidelity Investments. Fidelity and BlackRock join forces in ETF fee war
Fidelity and Blackrock have formed a strategic alliance to allow greater access to the iShares ETF range.
Fidelity brokerage customers will be able to trade 65 BlackRock iShares ETFs without paying a commission, up from 30 funds currently. It will include the 10 iShares Core ETFs, as well as a range of international, domestic, specialised equity, fixed income and commodity approaches.
The two companies will work together to develop passive sector-based strategies, which are designed to complement the funds already on offer through BlackRock’s iShares platform.
BlackRock will also help Fidelity develop an investment strategy for clients based on a mix of ETFs and will support some of the firm’s own efforts to start a new line of equity sector ETFs.
Boston-based Fidelity, which manages some $1.7 trillion, mostly in mutual funds, has largely been left behind in the ETF explosion of the past decade.
By contrast, BlackRock acquired top ETF provider iShares in 2009. Among its nearly $4 trillion of total assets, it oversees $708 billion of ETFs.
Wikimedia Commonsby Judith Covarrubias. Mexico has a new REIT
Fibra INN, a Mexican real estate investment trust specializing in the hotel industry, announced on March 13th, the pricing and results of its initial public offering.
With 214,316,264 Certificados Bursátiles Fiduciarios Inmobiliarios (“CBFIs”), 60.2% of which was placed with Mexican investors and 39.8% of which was purchased by international investors under rule 144A in the U.S. and Reg S outside the U.S., the offering price was Ps. 18.50 per CBFI, yielding an aggregate value of Ps. 3,964,850,884.
According to a press release, Desarrollos del Valle will contribute 8 hotels and holds non-mandatory options to purchase an additional 6 hotels that will make up its initial portfolio of 14 total hotels.
Corporación Actinver, S.A.B. de C.V. acted as structuring agent. Actinver Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. acted as joint bookrunner along with Casa de Bolsa Credit Suisse (México), S.A. de C.V. and Santander Investment Securities Inc.
Foto: Cayambe . Legg Mason y Permal completan la compra de Fauchier Partners
Legg Mason and affiliate Permal have this wednesday completed the acquisition of Fauchier Partners, a leading European based manager of funds of hedge funds, from BNP Paribas Investment Partners. Fauchier Partners had estimated assets under management of $5.4 billion as of February 28, 2013.
Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $661 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2013. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM).
Permal is a leading global alternative asset manager, offering investment solutions through established funds and customized portfolios. Established in 1973, the Group has four decades of experience in manager selection, asset allocation and risk management.
Beamonte Investments, private equity fund, announced that it has acquired a minority stake in Mexican Integra Arrenda, a company dedicated to provide financing and leasing of transportation equipment and particular public use. The acquisition has been completed, while the transaction value was not disclosed.
Integra Arrenda has more than 19 years in the auto financing industry in Mexico, offering financial services for cars, trucks and buses through leasing or credit. Jose Abascal, CEO of Integra Arrenda said: “We will benefit from Beamonte’s financial support as well as its strong network of business contacts throughout the Financial Industry, with Beamonte´s help, we will be able to double the size of our portfolio in the next 12 months and we will reach more SME’s in Mexico looking for Auto Financing solutions”.
Being the financial arm of Grupo Andrade, gives Integra multiple channels of distribution with access to the whole vehicle industry in Mexico. “We are looking forward to work with Jose and the Integra´s management team in the next stage of its growth and profitability. Auto Financing is one of the hottest asset class and we found in Integra a combination of a great product with and understanding management team. This combination serves up a potent work ethic and an outstanding performance record. This is a recipe for continued success”, said Raul Galvez, Senior Vice President of Beamonte Investments.
Grupo Financiero Banorte and IBM announced March 12th the signing of a 10-year strategic agreement that will allow the Mexican financial institution to create a new customer-centric banking model, while substantially improving its efficiencies to achieve levels close to 40% and return on equity above 20%.
The agreement – based on the solid growth of Grupo Financiero Banorte – seeks to create a scalable and sustainable platform to achieve world class efficiencies as well as high attention levels and segmentation, retention and contact schemes with its clients, through existing channels and others to be developed. This agreement establishes an unprecedented transformational relationship in the Latin America banking industry.
“At Banorte-Ixe we start today with a solid business foundation that has positioned us as the third Bank in the Mexican market. We know it is time to move to the next level and evolve totally focused on our clients. We are fully satisfied with the agreement reached with IBM as it joins the best talent, both from the ranks of IBM and Banorte, and is in line with our ongoing search for technological tools necessary to attract, retain and serve our customers in an individualized manner always with the best service and attention, keeping us at the forefront of innovation,”said Alejandro Valenzuela, CEO of Grupo Financiero Banorte.
“Banorte-Ixe is a forward- thinking organization, seeking to provide its customers with the best products and services,” said Salvador Martinez Vidal, IBM Mexico Country Manager . “By partnering with IBM, Banorte-Ixe will have access to the best scientists, engineers and industry experts in the world to help transform their business and become one of the most competitive banks in its market. This deal raises the bar for a new level of innovation in the Mexican market.”
The partnership considers the establishment of a very solid corporate governance model, which – according to the progress – will monitor the investment in new projects and the re-routing of existing spending.
Banorte–Ixe seeks to become the bank with the best customer experience and service not only in Mexico, but also around the world, leading its sector and setting an example of innovation through smarter use of advanced technologies.
Banorte-Ixe’s goal is to deeply understand its clients’ needs and offer a superior customer service to its more than 20 million users through business analytics solutions. Most importantly, the goal is to develop and offer personalized products and services better suited for each customer’s unique condition.
IBM will enable Banorte–Ixe to differentiate the company to better utilize Big Data, analytics, cloud computing and social business. The advantages of the deal extend beyond transformation of the company’s customer service model, as the joint work of both companies will help Banorte–Ixe improve organization-wide efficiencies and market share, as well as allow the rapid achievement of its strategic goals involving improved revenue and higher profitability, in a unique global partnership model.
Banorte-Ixe will experience an outstanding transformation in its operations and services innovation in the mid term. Transformational services will primarily focus on client interactions, getting a better knowledge of their needs and the adoption of better risk processes and technology. At the same time, operational services will be focused on improved processes, applications and technology adoption.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Léon Cornelissen. Robeco: investing in emerging markets as a protection to currency war
Talk of a currency war is in the air. A currency war occurs when two or more countries devalue their own currencies via fiscal or monetary policy to improve or to prevent deterioration in their export competitiveness.
“Increased exports and lower imports lead to higher production,” explains Léon Cornelissen, Robeco’s Chief Economist.
At first sight, then, a currency devaluation in order to boost growth looks attractive. But Cornelissen emphasizes that the policy has many drawbacks. A weaker currency often leads to inflation. This is especially the case when no domestic substitutes for imports are available. Desides, other countries, which also want to drive down their currencies, may implement similar measures. In the end, a competitive devaluation is a zero-sum game. The production gains of one country leads to production losses in another.
Cornelissen sees no end to the currency war. “In the end, most governments and/or central banks still try to bring down their currency and see this as a quick fix for their economic problems”, says Cornelissen.
But that can be a mistake—a big mistake. “Aiming for a lower currency is easier than implementing structural reforms,” he says. “But a currency war will not bring prosperity.”
So how should investors protect themselves against a currency war? Cornelissen suggests investing in emerging markets, with unhedged currency exposure. He cautions that the risks of investing in these markets are higher than in developed markets.
“Participating in a currency war can turn out to be the road to ruin”, Léon Cornelissen
What is the rationale for this? “When a round of competitive devaluations starts, the options of central banks in emerging markets to keep their currencies from rising are limited,” he says. “This is because they cannot easily lower interest rates.”
Lowering interest rates is the most powerful weapon a central bank has at its disposal to weaken its currency. “The problem in emerging markets is that lowering interest rates leads to a credit boom, and the subsequent surge in domestic consumption leads to higher inflation,” he explains.
There is another reason why emerging markets currencies offer investors the best protection: a prolonged currency war leads to demand for alternative reserve currencies outside developed markets.
Although emerging markets offer protection during a currency war, Cornelissen points to one final potential downside when investing in these markets: “A currency war can lead to the imposition of capital controls,” he says. “This can complicate things for investors.”
