Wikimedia CommonsPhoto: Andrei Niemimäki . Florida's students have a lot to thank to Lottery players
The Florida Lottery announced today a record $25 billion in transfers to Florida’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. For the past 25 years, the Florida Lottery has firmly established itself as an essential and dependable funding source for public education; contributing more than $1 billion annually for the past 10 consecutive fiscal years. Lottery education funds are appropriated by the Florida Legislature and then administered by the Florida Department of Education.
“We are proud of this accomplishment and are very thankful to all Lottery players and retailers who have helped us reach such a significant milestone,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell. “We will continue to strive to increase funding for education programs in our state for the next 25 years and beyond.”
Florida voters, by a two-to-one margin, approved a constitutional amendment in 1986 authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating additional funding for education. These additional funds have contributed to K-12 programs in Florida’s 67 school districts, community colleges and state universities, the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, other state student financial aid, and the construction and maintenance of public schools through the Classrooms First and Classrooms for Kids programs.
Wikimedia CommonsLeopoldo Abadía Junior. Tailor-made Master’s Degree for Heirs of Large Fortunes
If the heir of a large fortune, who has the label of being the son of… and who carries the burden of having to prove his self-worth 24/7, doesn’t succeed for lack of confidence or because from a young age works in the family business and doesn’t have the time needed to enroll in a traditional Master’s Degree program, now he has the option of getting enrolled in a tailor-made Master’s Degree program which was specifically designed for the wealthy.
This is where Leopoldo Abadía Junior makes his appearance, who also carries the label of being the son of Leopoldo Abadía, and is certainly tired of being asked whether he is the son of… Leopoldo Abadía Senior is one of the founders of IESE Business School, and also a Spanish professor and writer who became famous in Spain with the “Ninja Theory”. “The Ninja Theory” is an analysis which in a very clear and plain language explained the causes for the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and its consequences on the rest of the world at the beginning of 2008. The echo of that article, which Leopoldo Abadía Senior at first shared with his sons, coworkers and friends, became a huge media phenomenon whose impact broke all boundaries.
Abadía Junior has dedicated 25 years of his life to the tailor-made education business, and is an expert like few in the resolution of family disputes over large assets and family businesses. He has estimated that since 1987, he has taught over 210 students, accepting not more than 7/10 cases a year. Besides, not all candidates are admitted, the reason being is that simply they don’t need it. The tailor-made course is currently taught to two students from Spain, four students from Latin America, and there are another eight on the waiting list.
Heirs of large fortunes from Spain, France, Mexico, Portugal and Russia are amongst his pupils but he only talks about one of them and the reason being is because the student himself has discussed his experience in more than one occasion. The aforementioned student is Manuel Lao Gorina, who in the late 80s received a tailor-made Master’s Degree from Abadía. Despite not having received higher education, Lao Gorina, son of Manuel Lao Hernandez, the founder of the game and leisure multinational Cirsa among numerous other companies, has become a very successful executive.
“It is always the same profile, low self-esteem and lack of affection”, notes Abadía. Usually these are people who’s parents are not present daily, whot grew up on their own and for many the nanny has been the only adult who has been present during their growth. “They are so obsessed with following in their father’s footsteps that they lose their way”. Abadía works as if he was putting together a puzzle, once the pieces have been found the student is ready to demonstrate his finest qualities.
In respect to the Master’s program methodology, Abadía explains that he uses an executive training program similar to the one used by the leading business schools in the world, whose professors are top executives of numerous companies, and are also former students from those business schools. These executives give lectures in the area or areas of their expertise.
The Master’s Degree program is always individual and local, and is carried out at the speed the student feels most comfortable at. Usually the program extends over a period of time ranging between a year and a year and a half, up until the moment it is proven that the student has conquered all of his fears and that he has successfully resolved his confidence issues.
Strong demand and market conditions are driving Latin American growth opportunities for North American corporates in a number of industries, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. Fitch’s report aggregates public comments made by 22 North American companies across five industry sectors.
Fitch forecasts 3.7% Latin America GDP growth in 2013 and 2.9% in 2014, up from forecasted growth of 2.8% in 2012. At the micro level, demand from consumers remains robust in most countries due to low unemployment levels, rising wages, modest inflation and improving consumer confidence. Inflation remains a key regional risk with several Latin American central banks having taken actions to weaken their currencies.
For companies in the natural resources sectors, aggressive oil/gas production targets by Latin American National Oil Companies (NOCs) continue to drive high levels of demand for drilling and service providers. Likewise, U.S. refiners are benefiting from robust demand for refined product imports in Latin America, matched with regional capacity constraints and select operational issues.
Latin America continues to provide a strong growth platform for agrochemical companies operating in the region with Brazil and Argentina producing large soybean crops and growing corn plantings
The full report ‘Latin American Demand: What North American Corporates are Saying in Q4’ is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com‘.
Foto: Fletcher6. AXA enters into exclusivity in connection with the potential sale of a majority stake in AXA Private Equity
AXA Investment Managers announced that its asset management subsidiary, AXA Investment Managers (“AXA IM”) has received an irrevocable offer from an investor group for its entire stake in AXA Investment Managers Private Equity SA (“AXA Private Equity”).
The proposed transaction would be structured with a view to protecting AXA Private Equity’s investment expertise and performance-driven culture, and to ensuring that its clients continue to benefit from the outstanding service and performance they have enjoyed over the past several years. The transaction would enable AXA to monetize its interest in AXA Private Equity, a business successfully developed by the Group since 1996, and would provide a strong foundation for the next growth phase of one of Europe’s leading private equity firms.
The acquiring investors would be composed of AXA Private Equity’s senior management, led by Dominique Senequier, a group of institutions and French family offices and AXA Group. AXA Private Equity’s 298 employees would be given the opportunity to participate in the transaction through a dedicated vehicle.
Upon the completion of the proposed transaction, AXA Private Equity’s voting share capital would be held as follows:
AXA Private Equity’s management and employees: 40.00%
External investors: 33.14%
AXA Group: 26.86%
The proposed transaction would enable AXA Private Equity to become an independent private equity firm, with a powerful international network and reach. With USD 31 billion (or Euro 24 billion) assets under management raised from investors worldwide, the firm would offer its 255 investors a broad spectrum of asset classes: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds (comprising 160 portfolio companies), including Mid and Small Market Enterprise Capital, Infrastructure, Innovation & Growth, Co-Investment and Private Debt.
The proposed transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the completion of the works council consultation process and obtaining required regulatory approvals and should be finalized before the end of Q3 2013.
The transaction would value AXA Private Equity at Euro 510 million for 100%. The sale of AXA IM’s entire stake would result in AXA IM receiving a total consideration up to Euro 488 million. The consideration would be divided into an upfront payment of approximately Euro 348 million and deferred consideration up to Euro 140 million, to be paid in installments subject to achieving certain targets and meeting certain conditions.
Foto: Thomas Bresson. Aumenta el apetito por los mercados más especializados entre los inversores de ETFs
Retail investors are embracing ETFs and the exposure they can provide to more specialized markets, according to recent client data from TD Ameritrade, Inc. (“TD Ameritrade”), a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation.
“When we set out to develop a better commission-free offering, our goal was to help investors build long-term portfolios more cost effectively while staying true to our core philosophy of doing the right thing for the client”
Close to 30 percent of ETF holdings among TD Ameritrade retail clients provide exposure to commodities and alternatives. Around 45 percent of ETF holdings provide exposure to US equities, about 15 percent provide international equity exposure and bond ETFs make up 10 percent of ETF positions.
“Over the past five years, our retail client ETF holdings have more than doubled,” said Lule Demmissie, managing director of investment products and retirement, TD Ameritrade. “And, more than ever, we’re seeing investors take advantage of the exposure to more specialized markets that ETFs can provide. More investors, young and old, are using ETFs in increasingly sophisticated ways.”
There is a correlation between age and the likelihood of having ETFs in a portfolio, and a slight difference in what type of ETFs might be held:
Age 26-35
12.7% of assets are held in ETFs, and more likely than other age groups to hold international ETFs
Age 36-45
11.3% of assets are held in ETFs
Age 46-55
8.6% of assets are held in ETFs
Age 56-65
7.3% of assets are held in ETFs, less likely to hold US stock ETFs; and more likely to hold bond and metals ETFs
Age 66-75
6.2% of assets held in ETFs, even less likely to hold US stock ETFs; and even more likely to hold bond and metals ETFs
Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, the ETF market has expanded to provide exposure to specific markets, such as international markets, fixed income and commodities, which, while having unique risks, can help round out a diversified long-term investment portfolio, and investors are increasingly taking advantage of the possibilities.
This evolution and the demand from clients was the impetus for TD Ameritrade to, in 2010, create the first-ever commission-free ETF list with more than 100 ETFs, objectively selected by investment experts at Morningstar Associates, LLC, a registered investment advisor and unit of Morningstar. The list is made up of a wide selection of ETFs from among the largest and most well-known issuers of ETFs in today’s market. TD Ameritrade receives no special compensation or fees from any of the ETF providers included on the list.
Foto cedidaChris Bullock, portoflio manager of the Henderson European Corporate Bond Fund. Henderson: Cyprus wobble demonstrates need for corporate solidity
We are conscious of the rising risks represented by the Italian election result (demonstrating the increasing influence of populist politics as the electorate rail against the austerity approach) and the on-going saga in Cyprus, which again threatens to undermine the credibility of eurozone officials as they continue to adopt a case-by-case approach to each new crisis. Whether Cypriot authorities insist on a levy on depositors or not, it shows that in a weak banking system with a weak sovereign, impairments are likely to result. At current market levels, the risk/reward in the eurozone periphery looks considerably less appetising than last summer, whilst investor positioning in credit is longer than it has been for some time.
Therefore, within the Henderson Horizon Euro Corporate Bond Fund we have taken advantage of the recent resilience to trade up in quality, targeting issuers that exhibit defensive characteristics, have demonstrable fundamental improvement, and have more of a global reach (rather than a domestic European focus).
· Quality: securities from ‘core’ countries (evidenced by a sustainable debt position or independent monetary policy), companies that are globally diversified in terms of revenues and that have stable or improving credit rating momentum. Examples include bonds issued by BAT (global tobacco), Amcor (global packaging), and Telstra (Australian telecom).
· Focus on alpha: deleveraging/turnaround stories that apply regardless of market direction or euro crisis. Examples include: Gecina, a property company that is reducing leverage (it was upgraded by both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s in 4Q12); and GKN, a high yield issuer but with a credible strategy to regain an investment grade rating over the next 12-18 months
· Global: European companies with low exposure to domestic Europe, and/or international companies issuing in euro
Our expectation is that good stock selection (alpha) will be more important than beta in driving returns in 2013.
Wikimedia CommonsFoto: Alejandro Arce Herrero . La estadounidense Apollo compra la cartera de crédito al consumo del español Bankia
Apollo European Principal Finance Fund II (“Apollo EPF II”), a fund affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (collectively with its subsidiaries “Apollo”), today announced a definitive agreement to acquire FinanMadrid, the auto and consumer loan unit of Bankia, which includes more than 188,000 customer accounts in Spain with a balance of more than €873 million of receivables (the “Portfolio”). The accounts will continue to be managed by the approximately 125 person operating platform based in Madrid, Spain, which is also being acquired by Apollo EPF II. The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close within four months.
This transaction follows the acquisitions by Apollo EPF II and its predecessor fund, Apollo European Principal Finance Fund (“Apollo EPF I”), of numerous assets including Bank of America’s Spanish consumer credit card portfolio and operations in August 2011, Bank of America’s Irish consumer credit card unit in May 2012, and a portfolio of €265 million performing and €280 million non-performing consumer loans held by Citibank in Spain in September 2012. Upon completion of the acquisition of the Portfolio, Apollo EPF I and Apollo EPF II will have acquired approximately €2.7 billion of credit card and consumer loan receivables in Ireland and Spain, which are serviced by a staff of approximately 675 persons in total. Apollo EPF I and Apollo EPF II have been significant investors in European non-performing loan portfolios and other illiquid assets divested by financial institutions, having completed more than 30 transactions comprised of more than 1 million loans with outstanding claims of more than €10 billion.
“This transaction underscores Apollo’s ability to leverage its integrated platform to provide differentiated solutions to European financial institutions as they restructure their balance sheets. In addition, this transaction will bring our invested capital in Spain since 2011 to more than €1 billion, underscoring our commitment to Spain as a core market for our activities. We have further solidified our relationship with Bankia, one of the leading Spanish financial institutions, and we look forward to growing this relationship in the future,” said Andrés Rubio, EPF Partner and Head of Apollo EPF’s Spanish franchise.
Photo: Diliff . Carmignac Gestion Funds Now Available on AXA Wealth Elevate
Carmignac Gestion announced that its funds are now available via the AXAWealth Elevate platform, making the company’s range of equities, bonds, diversified and multi asset investment solutions accessible to a larger number of UK intermediaries and retail investors.
In total, eleven Carmignac Gestion funds are available through AXA Wealth Elevate. All sterling share classes are hedged against the euro, so investors are not exposed to changes in the sterling/euro exchange rate.
Eric Helderlé, Managing Director at Carmignac Gestion, commented: “Today’s announcement is an important step in Carmignac’s expansion in the UK market. Following the opening of our London office in April last year, we have seen importantdemand for our high conviction investment approach from UK investors. Distributing funds via AXA Wealth’s Elevate platform will help us meet that demand by making our global and diversified investment solutions more widely available”.
David Thompson, managing director, Elevate, said: “The open architecture nature of the Elevate platform and an agnostic approach to where advisers and their clients choose to invest is at the heart of the AXAWealth proposition. By extending the range of funds on the Elevate platform, we are able to ensure that advisers and clients have access to a wide variety of investment choices giving them greater flexibility and choice. The addition of the Carmignac Gestion range increases the breadth of investment options in equities, bonds, diversified and multi-asset investment solutions.”
Carmignac Gestion’s investment funds are available to both retail and institutional investors through a wide variety of distribution channels. It now has a client base of more than one million investors across Europe.
Foto cedidaPablo Laplana, deputy managing director, International Business at BPA. “BPA’s Financial Health Allows It to Continue Purchasing”
The deputy managing director of the International Business of BPA, Pablo Laplana, who explained that 2012 has been a very good year for the international division, due to the fact that it has seen a growth of 40% in its business in the current market, added that they are currently working from the Andorra branch “to concentrate and focus on private banking”.
BPA currently has a bank and a brokerage house in Panama, a financial advisor in Switzerland, another one in Uruguay and also one in Luxemburg. Several years ago they tried to penetrate the Mexican market with a representative office, but according to Laplana, “having seen the cost/benefit we decided on a strategic closure”.
“In the last seven years, our organic growth in the area of international business has come from Latin America”, a region to which one goes for cultural affinity, however the future strategy of this entity includes expansions to Asia and Eastern Europe, where “the policy change requires you to adapt to an institutional and commercial level”, explained Laplana in an interview with Funds Society.
“The clients from Latin America are searching for stability and security and they flee from dull and complex products”
According to Laplana, despite the economic crisis in Europe and in the United States, Latin America and Asia have experienced rapid growth, which for BPA implies, “there are opportunities far beyond the traditional business”. The coordination of the business in Latin America is done from Andorra, because “we believe that it is more efficient and effective to directly interact with the main offices of the group”.
As to the possibility of opening an office in Miami, a market where other Andorran banks – Andbank, Credit Andorra and Mora – are present, Laplana expressed that they know the place very well but “for the time being it doesn’t benefit us from an operating and economic point of view”.
Their clients have an average portfolio of half a million dollars, and their money is deposited in Andorra.
They have personal advisory for clients who are looking for proximity and quality service. BPA has its own investment team in private banking, with a staff of 30 people.
According to Laplana, in Latin America the client has more exposure to fixed income than equity, with a more conservative profile “because they already have the risk factor by living in this region. The clients from Latin America are searching for stability and security and they flee from dull and complex products”, he concluded.
This week, we are experiencing the first notes of yet another crisis in Europe since it all began in 2010. This time is in Cyprus, a small island that only generates 0.4% of the total GDP of the Euro zone.
I have the feeling that, like on other occasions, the ending result will not generate chaos. In spite of the risk of ignoring the interest of the common citizen by blocking the access to his savings and changing the order of importance, that should penalize the bond holders of the Senior Bonds from Cypriot banks, the possibility of affecting the other countries is probably lower than in similar episodes suffered by these countries since the beginning of the crisis.
The American banks, as well as the European ones, can boast of a better financial health today than they could a couple of years ago. Another point to take into consideration now is that the famous phrase “Whatever it Takes”, expressed by Draghi and the security network provided to Italy or Spain by the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), reduce tremendously the possibility of a financial collapse of today’s financial system.
However, what is really generating more attention is that the effect of the political noise over the performance of risky assets has been decreasing over the last months. A good example of this point can be found in the behavior of the equity markets after digesting uncomfortable results for stockowners from an electoral process.
The smart reader must have noticed that the period (in days) and the effect of the correction in prices as a consequence of an unfavorable election result for the shareholders has been decreasing over time. As an example, the EuroStoxx needed only one month to recover from the scare in Italy, whereas the acceptance of Hollande’s victory in France took almost a year and it was slow and difficult to digest.
It’s the Economy, Stupid!
Therefore, what is the change in perception among investors and portfolio managers about the political risk? I consider that there are two main factors:
On one hand, the global improvement in economic growth sustained by the creativity of the main Central Banks, which have put into practice aggressive programs of monetary expansion to guarantee a shorter period of convalescence. The results start to be seen now in the USA where the American citizen is increasing his level of consumption, the housing prices are recovering and the market is creating new jobs now. It can also be seen in China, where the credit is flowing again and, in a shy way in Europe, where it can be seen through indicators like the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
Despite this improved economic scenario, the level of debt of the public and private sectors in the developed countries is still too high and the economic recovery is still minimal. The margin of maneuver by the politicians, without taking into consideration their economic agenda, is very limited for the moment. This guarantees a certain level of continuity and reduces the uncertainty…. and the market cannot put up with uncertainty.
We hope that the economy will continue helping us, because, if we have to trust the politicians,…….
