Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Ester Inbar. Hapoalim y su filial Poalim Sahar designan a BNY Mellon su custodio en EE.UU.
BNY Mellon has been appointed as US custody provider by Bank Hapoalim, one of the leading financial institutions in Israel, and its institutional servicing subsidiary Poalim Sahar, said BNY Mellon in a press release.
The mandate encompasses a full suite of core US custody services, including front-end technology solutions and bespoke reporting services for the Israeli marketplace.
Anath Levin, Member of the Board and Head of Financial Markets at Bank Hapoalim, said: “BNY Mellon’s commitment to service quality and innovation, and its ongoing investment in technology and intellectual capital, made it the clear choice for our custody needs in the US.”
Samir Pandiri, CEO for Asset Servicing at BNY Mellon, said: “We continue to enhance and refine our investment services offering to ensure we can continue to support our clients in meeting their strategic goals in what is an ever more complex and globalised business environment. This is a welcome opportunity for us to build upon our already close collaboration with Bank Hapoalim by supporting them in this key global market.”
Foto: (Digon3). Los inversores de San Francisco, los más optimistas de Estados Unidos
A new poll by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management shows that high net worth investors in the San Francisco Bay Area are the most bullish among eight U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed, while those in Atlanta are the least bullish.
The poll, conducted on a national level with a special focus on eight major markets, found broad optimism among high net worth investors around six key sentiment indicators: A majority believe that the 1) global, 2) national and 3) individual state economies will be better or the same at year-end compared with the first three months of 2013.
Investors are even more optimistic about their personal financial prospects, with clear majorities predicting that the 4) investment climate, 5) personal investment portfolios and 6) overall financial well-being also will be better or the same at year-end.
With an over-sample of investors in Boston, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco, some interesting regional differences emerged:
The most bullish:
In aggregate, San Francisco Bay Area investors were more bullish than the national findings on these six key sentiment indicators by 56 percentage points, followed by Boston (27 percentage points) and Los Angeles (16 percentage points).
The least bullish:
Atlanta was the least bullish in aggregate (19 percentage points below the national average), followed by Houston (minus 12 percentage points) and Chicago (minus 11 percentage points – brought down by poor perceptions of the Illinois economy).
Other regional highlights include:
Boston – Retirees are less satisfied with the results of their investment portfolio, with 48% saying performance is worse than expected, compared with 36% nationally.
New York – Investors in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) are more bullish on prospects for the national economy, with 74% predicting it will be better or the same at year-end, vs. 66% nationally. Prospects for the local economy are seen as even brighter – 81% better or the same.
Atlanta – Investors see less improvement in housing, with only 34% seeing a price increase (vs. 41% nationally), and 31% seeing home prices decrease (vs. 20% nationally). Fully 64% of those surveyed say foreclosures have affected their neighborhoods, compared with 43% nationally.
Chicago – Investors are by far the most bearish nationally on their state economy, with 58% predicting it will be worse at year-end, compared with 22% nationally. The financial well-being of Illinois was cited as a concern by 93% (80% “very concerned’). Nationally, this was not named as a top concern.
Houston – High net worth investors say energy makes up a fifth of their investment portfolio, with roughly half in oil, a quarter in natural gas, and the rest in “other” (alternative, renewable, etc.) 53% see great potential in natural gas, 47% in oil and 24% in alternative/renewable sources.
Denver – Investors are bullish on housing. Three times as many investors see increases in local housing prices (64%) compared with those seeing decreases (20%).
Los Angeles – Investors are cool to one of the largest local industries – entertainment – with only about a third (32%) seeing it as a “good” opportunity and 46% neutral. The top six favored industry sectors were technology (76% “good”), energy (65%), bio-tech (65%), communications (59%), real estate (58%) and pharmaceutical (58%).
San Francisco – In the home of Silicon Valley, nearly four in 10 HNW investors (37%) say they have put funds into a start-up, but only 23% plan to do so in the next three years. Bay Area investors say innovative ideas are the most important consideration for investing, start-up or not, followed by strong financial backing.
James Swanson, estratega jefe de MFS. Los costes unitarios en EE.UU. están detrás del éxito de sus bolsas
US markets have decoupled recently from the rest of the world rising much more, especially against Europe. James Swanson, Chief Investment Strategist at MFS, argues in this video that lower manufacturing costs in the US are behind this performance.
“The biggest expense in manufacturing is labor costs”, emphasizes Swanson. “Unit labor costs in the US are very attractive compared to the rest of the world, even China”, he adds. Secondly Swanson refers to energy costs, which in the US are also falling due to the growth in the shale gas industry. “This is also impacting positively in the cost of manufacturing US goods, adding to growth in the GDP through manufactured exports”, explains Swanson.
A good example of this is the ethylene sector. “Costs in this sector have become so much lower in the US that it is now the most competitive producer in the world”.
By Diego Delso . Blackstone anuncia la adquisición de Strategic Partners de Credit Suisse
Blackstone announced an agreement with Credit Suisse to acquire Strategic Partners, Credit Suisse’s dedicated secondary private equity business with $9 billion in assets under management. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter 2013. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Tony James, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, said, “We are thrilled that the people of Strategic Partners are joining Blackstone. Many of us here at Blackstone were once colleagues of the Strategic Partners team, and this gives us high confidence that it will be a seamless cultural fit here at the firm. Strategic Partners complements Blackstone’s existing businesses, and we expect to be able to grow its franchise and help it enter new product areas.”
Alastair Cairns, Co-Head of Credit Suisse’s Legacy Asset Management business, added, “Strategic Partners is a leader in the secondary private equity space. We are pleased to have reached this agreement and are confident that with Blackstone, Strategic Partners will continue to build on its excellent track record.”
The sale is part of Credit Suisse’s strategic divestment plans that were announced on July 18, 2012.
Strategic Partners seeks capital appreciation through the purchase of secondary interests in high quality private equity funds from investors seeking liquidity on a fair, timely and confidential basis. From its start in 2000, it has raised over $11 billion of capital commitments, completed over 700 transactions, and acquired over 1,400 underlying limited partnership interests. Its performance has been top quartile among its peers. Strategic Partners’ team of twenty-six dedicated secondary investment professionals is headed by Stephen Can and Verdun Perry.
Foto: Thomas Bresson. . México, Colombia y Perú ganan atractivo en private equity y capital riesgo en América Latina
The investment climate for private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) in Latin America continued its upward trajectory, with all countries posting positive gains in the 2013 LAVCA Scorecard, released by the Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LAVCA). The 2013 Scorecard is the eighth edition of the annual ranking and reflects ongoing stability in the regulatory environment across key markets in Latin America.
Both Mexico and Colombia improved their scores as a result of gains on the indicator for entrepreneurship. Latin America has experienced a new generation of start up investing in recent years, and governments in Mexico and Colombia, among other markets, are promoting new programs to support entrepreneurs and venture capital investors.
Peru also saw an important gain in the 2013 Scorecard, with a reform approved last year that lifts restrictions on local pension funds investing in private equity in Peru and internationally. The new regulation reflects a return to a more proactive stance among Peruvian regulators on this issue, and increases the country’s overall score by two points.
There was little change at the top of the rankings, as Chile led the region for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Chile continues to lead on indicators that are generally weak across the rest of Latin America, specifically intellectual property protection, judicial transparency and the perception of corruption, and posted an increased score on accounting standards that put the country’s overall score on par with benchmark nations Taiwan and Spain.
In Brazil, where a new reporting code aimed at fund transparency went into effect, scores remained stable.
“Governments in major Latin American markets recognize the importance of private equity and venture capital for economic development and are responsive to investor demands for streamlined regulation. With record dollars invested in PE and VC in 2012, we are in a virtuous cycle of new investments, while the overall ecosystem continues to evolve”, said Cate Ambrose, President of LAVCA.
In Central America and the Caribbean scores were generally unchanged, though investor interest in the smaller opportunities presented by these markets continues to grow, prompting local governments to consider improvements in their regulatory environment. The Dominican Republic, where a new administration is tackling corruption, increased its score by three points.
Argentina presents the sole obstacle to progress, as the economy continues to deteriorate, and public policy presents a hostile environment for foreign investors. The country hosts a vibrant start up community, but Argentine entrepreneurs are beginning to look elsewhere for funding and partnerships.
Overall Latin America continues its steady path of growth and positive reform, a positive signal for PE/VC firms eager to invest in the region. As reported in 2013 LAVCA Industry Data, last year a record $7.9 billion was deployed in new investments across Latin America.
Foto: Arnoldius . Apex Fund Services nombra a Elliot Brown managing director para las Américas
Apex Fund Services, one of the world’s largest independent fund administration companies, announces the appointment of Elliott Brown to the newly created position of Managing Director – Americas. Elliott will have responsibility for overseeing the growth of all of Apex’s offices in North and South America.
Elliott was formerly with JP Morgan for 18 years, most recently as the Managing Director responsible for leading the bank’s global hedge fund administration business. Prior to that role, Elliott was in Strategy and Business Development and was instrumental in the formation of the Hedge Fund and Private Equity Fund Administration businesses at JPMorgan. Elliott also worked for JPMorgan in Australia in Relationship Management and Operations. Elliott is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Securities Institute of Australia.
Apex America has recently opened its new offices on East 52nd Street in New York and already offers office space to emerging fund managers as part of Apex’s Emerging Manager Incubation Service (EMIS) launched in February 2013.
“Attracting high caliber people such as Elliott demonstrates the growing recognition of Apex’s potential around the world. Elliott’s addition to the senior management team ensures that Apex now has the right resources in place ahead of its next phase of aggressive growth. Apex remains fully intent on continuing to shake up the financial services industry by introducing innovative services that are designed to bring efficiencies to fund managers and transparency to investors”, said Peter Hughes, group managing director of Apex Fund Services.
By: Felipe Alfonso Castillo Vázquez . Heyman y Asociados Joins Forces With Franklin Templeton Investments in Mexico
Franklin Resources, a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments, today announced that Heyman y Asociados S.C., a leading independent institutional asset manager in Mexico, has agreed to join forces with Franklin Templeton Investments in Mexico, subject to customary closing conditions. Full terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Michel Tulle, senior director for Franklin Templeton Americas stated, “We are excited to be joined by Heyman y Asociados, an established Mexican asset management firm with over 20 years’ experience managing assets on behalf of prominent institutional clients. This transaction permits us to expand significantly our presence in the institutional asset management market in Mexico, and reinforcesour corporate strategy of providing clients with the best investment products in markets such as Mexico, where Mexican asset management experience is important to meeting both global and Mexican investor needs.”
Heyman y Asociados S.C, with managed and advisory assets of approximately USD 1.1 billion as of March 31, 2013, was established in 1985 and specializes in managing pension funds, endowment funds, reserves and treasury funds, for Mexican and multinational corporations, Mexican educational, environmental, healthcare and other non-profit institutions, and for Mexican insurance companies. The team is led by Timothy Heyman, an experienced investment professional with more than three decades in Mexico.
The Heyman team will provide investment management services through Franklin Templeton Servicios de Asesoría Mexico, S. de R.L. de C. V (“FTSAM”), a new institutional investment management subsidiary, of which Timothy Heyman will become CEO. Subject to customary regulatory approval, Mr. Heyman will also become Chairman and a Member of the Board of Franklin Templeton Asset Management Mexico, S. A. de C.V. (“FTAM”), Franklin Templeton’s mutual fund management company in Mexico.
Franklin Templeton Investments has been present in Mexico for almost 20 years, and its funds have been investing in the country since the early 1980s. In 2005, the company opened its first office in Mexico and its asset management operation, Franklin Templeton Asset Management Mexico, began operations in 2009.
Timothy Heyman was President of ING Baring Grupo Financiero (México), S.A. de C.V., and of Baring, S.A. de C.V. Casa de Bolsa, the first foreign brokerage in Mexico. He has been named Emerging Markets All-Star by Global Finance, and was selected first place for Mexican economic, financial and stock market research by Institutional Investor for three successive years. He is the author of eight best-selling books on Mexican investments, the latest being Inversión en la Globalización and Mexico for the Global Investor. He has a BA from Oxford and an MS in Management from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
“As one of the first global investment management firms to establish local asset management capabilities, we have had an enduring presence in global markets for many years,” said Stephen Dover, international chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton Local Asset Management Group. “With the addition of Mexico, the group now has locally managed and distributed products in 11 countriesincluding Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.We believe this first-hand, local investment expertise, combined with shared research from across the globe, gives us unparalleled insights into the markets where we invest.”
Universidad de Carolina del Norte. Cuatro universidades se unen para fomentar el análisis de las inversiones en private equity
Scholars from a number of universities have created a consortium for research on private equity. The Private Equity Research Consortium (PERC) will conduct and promote research on how these private capital investments affect both financial results and broader economic issues.
“Historically, researchers who want to study private equity confront a major barrier: high-quality data”
The consortium is particularly interested in the interaction of scholars and industry professionals to improve data on and understanding of private equity. PERC will be housed at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. Its formation was made possible by a generous grant from the UAI Foundation, a non-profit foundation devoted to supporting research in finance.
PERC has named its founding advisory board:
Gregory W. Brown , University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School
Robert Harris , PERC director and University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
Tim Jenkinson , Oxford University, Said Business School
Steven Kaplan , University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
James Bachman , Burgiss, Director
The advisory board charts the consortium’s research agenda and will review applications from academic researchers for access to data available through the consortium in collaboration with Burgiss. Burgiss provides portfolio management software, data and analytics to asset owners investing in private capital. Its solutions streamline the investment process, provide transparency into portfolio holdings, and enable data-driven decisions.
“Over the last two decades, private equity has grown to become an important part of the investment landscape, yet little is known about the industry. Historically, researchers who want to study private equity confront a major barrier: high-quality data,” said Brown, Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Scholar and professor of finance at UNC Kenan-Flagler. “Our goal is to help remove that barrier.”
“PERC provides a powerful opportunity to bring together scholars and industry professionals with a common goal: a better understanding of private equity’s effects on both financial results and broader economic outcomes,” said Harris, director of PERC and the C. Stewart Sheppard Professor at Darden.
PERC activities include creating research for publication in academic and practitioner journals, developing and testing data, providing access to data for academic researchers, hosting an annual conference of leading academics and industry professionals, and producing short reports on topics of current interest in private equity. This year’s conference will be held Nov. 22, 2013, at UNC-Chapel Hill.
For information about PERC, access to complete and ongoing research projects, and how to apply for access to data available through the consortium, visit this link.
Foto cedidaSimon Ward, economista jefe de Henderson Global Investors. Henderson: ¿Ofrecerá la renta variable resultados interesantes a largo plazo?
The MSCI World equity total return index in US dollars is within touching distance of its 2007 all-time high, having risen by 131%* from a post-crisis low reached in March 2009. This strong performance, despite a disappointing economic recovery in the Group of Seven (G7) major countries, is attributable to three main factors.
First, equities were attractively valued following the 2007-09 bear market. According to a forecasting model** employed by US economist and fund manager John Hussman, for example, US stocks were priced to deliver a 10-year return of 9.2% per annum (pa) at the March 2009 trough. The prospective return, admittedly, reached much higher levels in the 1970s and 1980s – it peaked at 20.0% in June 1982. The March 2009 forecast, however, was the strongest since 1992.
Secondly, global growth has been respectable since 2009, despite a sluggish G7 recovery, reflecting the rapid expansion and increased weight of emerging economies. The IMF’s world GDP measure, calculated using “purchasing power parity” country weights, rose by 4.1% pa over 2010-12, above an average of 3.4% since 1980. The IMF expects continued respectable growth of 3.3% in 2013. World stock market earnings depend on GDP performance globally rather than in the G7.
Thirdly, the liquidity backdrop for equity and other markets has been unusually favourable since 2009, partly reflecting extreme and unconventional monetary policies. A key liquidity indicator is the gap between the annual growth rates of G7 real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) money supply and industrial production. Faster expansion of real money than output implies that there is “excess” liquidity available to flow into markets and push up prices. This condition has been met in 34 out of 48 months since March 2009.
Applying a similar model to the MSCI World ex US index, for example, suggests a 10-year prospective return of 8.3%
What do these considerations suggest about current equity market prospects? The trend rise in global GDP and corporate earnings should continue to be supported by emerging-world catch-up.
Equity market valuation, however, is now much less attractive than in 2009. According to the Hussman model, for example, US stocks are priced to achieve 10-year performance of only 3.0% pa, well below the historical average. Mr Hussman, therefore, has been suggesting that investors should hold cash rather than equities until an opportunity arises to lock into a less unfavourable long-term return.
Such an argument may be valid for US stocks but carries less force in other markets, where valuation appears reasonable. Applying a similar model to the MSCI World ex US index, for example, suggests a 10-year prospective return of 8.3%.
A further consideration, of course, is the lack of appeal of other investment options – particularly government bonds and cash. The prospective 10-year return of 3.0% pa on US stocks is 1.3 percentage points above the current yield on US 10-year Treasuries*.
Many fixed-income investors, moreover, achieve exposure via funds that maintain a constant proportion of long-term securities rather than buying a 10-year bond to hold to maturity. They are, in other words, exposed to a risk of capital loss if either real yields revert to their historical average or inflationary expectations rise. US equities, in other words, may be priced to deliver a modest return but still appear attractive to bonds.
Valuation is the key driver of long-run performance but shorter-term equity market movements usually reflect the global economic cycle. A strong rally since mid-2012, for example, anticipated a pick-up in economic momentum in late 2012 and early 2013. This pick-up, in turn, was foreshadowed by faster global real money expansion from spring 2012 – the real money supply leads economic activity by about six months, according to the monetarist rule.
Summing up, equities are much less attractive than in early 2009 but are nevertheless likely to outperform cash and government bonds by a significant margin over the long term. Investors seeking to deploy new cash, however, may wish to delay pending a possible economic slowdown later in 2013, which may create a better entry opportunity.
*As of 17 April.
**The model assumes growth in dividends, earnings and nominal GDP of 6.3% pa – based on post-war experience – and mean reversion of the ratio of market cap to GDP over 10 years.
Foto: Mewiki . PIMCO contrata a Laurent Luccioni para gestionar la cartera comercial de bienes raíces en Europa
PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, has hired Laurent Luccioni as an Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Management–Europe. In this new role, Luccioni will join PIMCO on April 22nd, and he will be based in the firm’s London office, reporting to Dan Ivascyn, Managing Director and Head of PIMCO’s Mortgage Credit Portfolio Management team. PIMCO manages more than $17 billion in alternative investment strategies including hedge funds and opportunistic private equity strategies.
“PIMCO’s global investment platform, deep real estate and mortgage capabilities and intellectual capital enable us to provide a range of investment opportunities for our clients,” said Mr. Ivascyn. “Laurent is an outstanding investor and leader, and he brings to PIMCO significant experience and knowledge of the commercial real estate investment space in Europe and around the world,” added Mr. Ivascyn.
PIMCO has developed and managed alternative strategies for over a decade, including a range of hedge funds, distressed credit funds and opportunistic strategies. More than 75 investment professionals across the firm contribute to PIMCO’s alternatives efforts, including specialist portfolio managers, credit analysts, product managers, and client facing personnel across our global offices. The firm’s alternatives products benefit from PIMCO’s global resources and risk management platform and are managed by specialized teams experienced in alternatives strategies.
Luccioni will be an Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Management—Europe. He joins PIMCO from MGPA, an independently managed private equity real estate investment advisory company focused on real estate investment in Europe and Asia Pacific. While at MGPA, Mr. Luccioni most recently served as CEO-Europe with responsibility for the firm’s European business, leading a team of 88 people across five offices. Previously he was with Cherokee Investment Partners in Raleigh, North Carolina and London. He began his career as a design and construction engineer. He earned his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; a Doctor of Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley, and a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Ecole Speciale desTravaux Publics, in France
