Get Anti-money Laundering Training With FIBA’s CPAML and AMLCA Certifications: What Are They and How Can They Help You?

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The Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1979. The main focus of FIBA members is international finance, international correspondent banking and wealth management or private banking services for non-residents.

FIBA has long been recognised by regulators for its knowledge and expertise in Anti Money Laundering (AML) compliance and its excellent courses. FIBA has been providing anti-money laundering training for more than two decades, including its Annual Conference and FIBA AMLCA and CPAML certifications in partnership with Florida International University (FIU). FIBA will soon be organising two new courses for which you can register with a $200 discount code provided by Funds Society (FS200).

CPAML Certification (25/26th October)

The CPAML is an advanced level certification designed to expand the knowledge of professionals, officers, directors, or managers of any organization, with respect to the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism (AML / CFT).

The program is developed with a risk-based approach to identify potential risks, design an effective control system, investigate suspicious cases, and how to use these processes to best evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls.

The online course is an interactive option design for participants interested in completing the certification at their own pace. Through open discussions and activities, participants will have the opportunity to actively engage with the instructor and classmates to discuss the assigned materials.

October 25-26: Students will attend the CPAML course via Zoom videoconference

October 28: Students will work on their assignments and submit their workbooks before 5:00 PM EST

November 24: Final exam deadline – must be completed via Canvas before 11:59 PM EST

Participants who pass the final exam with an 81% or higher will earn the CPAML certificate. This certificate is valid for 2 years with 20 AML Continuing Education credits.

The registration fees are $1595 USD for non-members; $1395 USD for FIBA members; and $1195  USD for Government. Funds Society readers can access an exclusive discount with the code FS200.

AMLCA Certification (From 17th November)

The internationally recognized AMLCA Certification (Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate) is designed for intermediate-level compliance officers in both financial and non-financial sectors. The in-depth curriculum is based on best practices and international standards regarding the origin, practices, and development of regulations in money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The next edition will start in 17th November. The online course is an interactive option design for participants interested in completing the certification at their own pace. Through open forums and discussions, participants will have the opportunity to actively engaged with the instructor and classmates to discuss the assigned materials. Participants will have 90 days to complete the reading materials, PowerPoint narratives, 23 practice quizzes and the final certification exam.

The final certification exam consist of 100 multiple choice questions that must be completed within 1 hour and 45 minutes. Participants must pass the exam with a 75% or higher mark to receive the prestigious FIBA AMLCA Certification.

The registration fees are $1395 USD for non-members; $1195 USD for FIBA members; and $995  USD for Government. Funds Society readers can access an exclusive discount with the code FS200.

Julius Baer Acquires Stake in GROW Investment Group

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Julius Baer is pleased to announce it has become a strategic investor and business partner of GROW Investment Group. With this partnership, Julius Baer takes a first step into onshore China and at the same time, GROW’s clients will gain access to Julius Baer’s global investment expertise.

GROW is a China-based domestic asset management company, established and led by an award-winning team of senior investment professionals with a proven, top-performing track record and a strong history of building innovative and market-leading investment and distribution platforms. Its mission is to be a world-class, next generation asset management firm with a focus on China.

Backed with a low double digit million US dollar equity investment by Julius Baer into GROW, the partners will jointly establish a distribution network so that GROW’s domestic clients will gain access to selected Julius Baer offerings via Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership products and Julius Baer’s global clients will gain access to local investment expertise and assets via Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor products of a renowned and trusted Chinese partner.

Commenting on the partnership, David Shick, Head of Greater China at Julius Baer, said: “We are delighted to participate in the evolution of onshore wealth management in China through such an unprecedented partnership. We are convinced that the opportunities in the sector in China are bright, and we are looking forward to gaining visibility and bringing our best-in-class solutions and expertise to Chinese clients. The cooperation between GROW and Julius Baer will undoubtedly create value for these clients and support our growth plans for this important market.”  

William Ma, Global CIO of GROW, added: “We are honoured to welcome one of the most prestigious global wealth management firms as a strategic investor. This agreement with Julius Baer reflects their confidence in us and is testament to our best-in-class asset management capabilities and access to our onshore China network. I believe there are significant untapped opportunities for us in onshore China and look forward to growing our business together with Julius Baer.”

TheVentureCity launches platform that empowers early-stage technology investment at scale through data and analytics

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The global, unconventional venture fund TheVentureCity has launched a free tool to measure the healthy growth of any startup: Growth Scanner. The custom analysis gives startups invaluable insight into the true health of their product, through the lens of the VC organization’s experienced team of data scientists and investors, according the firm information.

Built by founders, for founders, TheVentureCity’s own data team crunches startups’ numbers to break down the crucial metrics needed to scale long-term.

Startups taking advantage of Growth Scanner first upload at least 6 months of data relating to users’ historical actions on their product to the platform. Those numbers are then transformed into a comprehensive, custom analysis of key metrics, benchmarks, strengths and weaknesses – all in a sharable, canvas-style dashboard with numbers and charts to help you visually tell your story to investors and stakeholders.

Moreover, every startup gets at least a 30-minute call in which TheVentureCity’s data experts will provide context and answer any questions. Also unlike similar products on the market, TheVentureCity’s Growth Scanner does not require startups to instrument their data, simply using the historical data they have already captured. The data is not shared with third parties.

“Most young startups do not have a data science team, nor much support when deciding how to get the most out of their data,” says Laura González-Estéfani, Founder and CEO of TheVentureCity. “They might only focus on revenue and number of users at investor meetings, which can be exaggerated or bought, while ignoring statistics on user engagement and retention – which are the true signals that reveal the potential for hyper growth.”

Growth Scanner focuses on key metrics like retention/churn, engagement, and growth accounting, using tactics derived from the original Facebook growth team. TheVentureCity uses this data to assess the strength of a startup’s product-market fit, and give founders a better understanding of their product growth levers and benchmark within their industry so they can reach smart business decisions. They are also the statistics investors are most interested in hearing about.

After building products in the early days of Facebook, WhatsApp and eBay, TheVentureCity’s international team came together to seek out high-potential startups regardless of zip code or time zone. Five years and over 100 investments later, these VCs know that to scale sustainably, startups must harness data instrumentation and analysis. As it analyzed countless startups’ transactional and usage data logs, TheVentureCity put together their own extensive data stack to train its data analytics technology.

Among TheVentureCity’s core beliefs is that VCs should not only give capital away but wisdom, and they decided to do so by democratizing data-driven advice for founders, regardless of whether or not they were in their portfolio. That is why it opened up its analytics technology up to all startups in the form of Growth Scanner. While this is a novel launch for the VC industry, it is just another step in TheVentureCity’s dedication to driving a more sustainable, data-driven approach among startups.

Edoardo Castelli Joins Morgan Stanley in Miami

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Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management announced the hiring of Edoardo Castelli in Miami from J.P. Morgan.

“Please join me in welcoming Edoardo Castelli to the Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Branch in Miami!,” posted Dalia Botero, Executive Director, Branch Manager of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in the Florida.

The advisor with more than 12 years in the Miami industry started as a Private Bank Analyst for Brazilian clients at J.P. Morgan in 2010, then moved to Associate Banker until 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile.

After a brief stint at Brightstar Corp. he returned to J.P. Morgan where he was a Client Advisor until September of this year, according to his BrokerCheck records.

“Edoardo built a successful career at JP Morgan Private bank for over a decade before moving to Morgan Stanley PWM,” Botero commented in his posting.

Castelli has a BBA and Finance from the University of Miami Herbert Business School.

US Food Supply Chains Struggle to Get Back into Shape

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U.S. food supply chains are still struggling due to labor shortages, weather and trade disruptions, says a report from ING bank.

According to ING, food manufacturers will be looking for a balance between quick fixes and structural solutions to increase resilience. Economic headwinds could ease pressure, but also cast uncertainty over investments.

For U.S. food and beverage manufacturers, many disruptions in their supply chains began with the pandemic. In terms of consumption patterns, the impact of the initial COVID-19 has clearly subsided.

Food spending has recovered to normal levels and now accounts for 52% of all food and beverage spending. However, demand remains dynamic, as food inflation tightens household finances and leads some consumers to switch from premium products to cheaper offerings. This forces food manufacturers to review aspects such as product ranges, production volumes and marketing.

In addition, food processors have to deal with many other issues. Supplier delays are commonplace for many companies, and labor shortages are one of the biggest problems on the supply side.

“Labor shortages range from truck drivers to warehouse workers to factory personnel to stockers to restaurant staff. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that absenteeism due to illness remains higher than before the pandemic,” asserts the research.

There are currently two job openings in the United States for every unemployed American. In addition, trade suffered setbacks and input prices soared.

“For U.S. manufacturers, elevated price levels for raw materials and non-food inputs, such as packaging, energy and fuel, are the result of strong domestic demand and overseas developments,” ING’s experts say.

Increased port delays have caused additional difficulties for food producers in the past two years, as they affected import flows of foreign ingredients and commodities (such as coffee and cocoa) and export flows of U.S. products. Increased lead times have also made it more difficult to obtain the equipment, parts and packaging materials needed to keep production lines running.

“Although the United States is not particularly dependent on agricultural products from the Black Sea region, the impact of the war on world prices had an impact on the country’s grain and vegetable oil buyers,” the report says.

Some of the causes of supply chain disruptions may be receding, but the impact on the food industry is far from disappearing, experts assert.

It will be a trade-off between what companies want to do and what they can do, because creating a more resilient supply chain comes at a cost. While these costs may be harder to bear in times of input cost inflation, the costs of production line stoppages and empty shelves could be even higher, experts estimate.

To read the full report you can access the following link.

 

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer

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J.P. Morgan announced that Paul Halpern has joined as Chief Marketing Officer for U.S. Wealth Management, one of the firm’s top areas of focus for customer growth. Halpern will lead an extensive team at a crucial time when the business is set to launch multiple new products later this year.

“We have the right strategy, the right culture, and the right people,” said Kristin Lemkau, CEO of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. “Paul has the perfect combination of creativity, tenacity and experience to help us grow this business, and he understands that the number one role of a marketer is to do just that.”

During his three decades of experience in the financial industry, Halpern has promoted digital banking products and worked with financial advisors. Halpern held the role of CMO at Betterment before moving to Morgan Stanley as head of Deposits and Cash Management for its Private Bank. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch, where he led marketing for affluent and mass affluent segments, and E*Trade, covering investing product and site marketing. He started his career at Capital One.

“Paul brings the growth mentality and client obsession to deliver the best service to our clients in an environment of accelerated growth,” said Carla Hassan, CMO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

J.P. Morgan leaders announced major investments in the Wealth Management business earlier this year. The firm has several channels that cater to each client’s unique financial needs, including online investing, and in-branch and office advisors. Later this year, the firm will launch a new remote advice channel and a digital money coach to help Chase clients plan for the future. The bank has said it will add 1,300 new financial advisors and reach $1 trillion in client assets by 2025.

As a member of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s leadership team, Halpern will report to CEO Kristin Lemkau and JPMorgan Chase Chief Marketing Officer Carla Hassan.

iCapital and Ares Wealth Management Solutions Expand Partnership

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iCapital and Ares Wealth Management Solutions announced an expansion of their partnership to provide financial advisors and registered independent advisors with greater access to a broadened menu of alternative investment solutions and a comprehensive set of tools to support the development of client portfolios.

Ares is leveraging the broad capabilities of iCapital’s technology to offer investment solutions tailored for the global wealth management community across Ares Management’s credit, private equity, real estate and secondaries asset classes.

The firm will launch an Ares-branded, iCapital-powered site to support the Ares team as they manage the distribution, marketing and client management activities for various investment solutions, including evergreen, drawdown, exchange and ’40 Act funds, according the firm information.

With approximately 110 dedicated professionals backed by the scale of the Ares investment management platform, Ares is one of the most resourced wealth distribution and client service teams in the alternative investment industry.

iCapital will provide feeder fund structuring and management, present the investment for the offering and facilitate the ongoing servicing, the firm said. This includes investor onboarding, electronic subscription processing, fund servicing and reporting for the life of the investments.

In addition to the launch of Ares’ branded distribution and servicing platform powered by iCapital, Ares offers access to a subset of its investment products via the iCapital flagship platform, the firm said.

“We work tirelessly with our strategic partners to continually elevate the experience for advisors and their high-net-worth clients accessing alternatives investing opportunities,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iCapital. “We are excited to announce our enhanced and evolving partnership that utilizes many of iCapital’s capabilities to support AWMS in providing broad access to their diverse investment offerings to the global wealth management community.”

“This is a differentiating partnership that advances AWMS’ commitment to providing financial advisors and their clients greater access to the breadth of Ares’ institutional-quality products and services,” said Raj Dhanda, Global Head of Wealth Management in Ares Wealth Management Solutions. “In expanding our relationship with iCapital and powered by its leading digital platform, we are further enhancing AWMS’ ability to meet high-net-worth investors’ demand for alternatives and better support their desired portfolio outcomes.”

AXA Investment Managers Launches an ETF Platform with a Focus on Active Management and Responsible Investment

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Marco Morelli, presidente ejecutivo de AXA IM
Photo courtesyMarco Morelli, Executive Chairman of AXA IM

AXA Investment Managers announces the launch of an ETF platform (“AXA IM ETF”) focused on active strategies and Responsible Investing (RI) to provide investors looking for enhanced liquidity with access to its strengths across responsible, thematic and quantitative investing.

The platform will initially launch with two actively UN SDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) aligned ETFs, classified as Article 9 funds under SFDR regulation , which have dual objectives of seeking to deliver long-term financial growth and a positive and measurable impact on the environment, the firm says.

The first two ETFs launched will focus on climate and biodiversity themes.

Commenting on the launch of the new platform, Marco Morelli, Executive Chairman of AXA IM, said: “To meet the changing demands of investors we must continue to innovate and enhance our investment offering, and through the launch of this new platform we do this by combining our active investment insight with the flexibility of an ETF.

“With the support of AXA and leveraging our key strengths, primarily within active management and responsible investing strategies, this platform will complement our existing fund range while answering client demand for ETF structured vehicles and offering them a better trading experience as well as easy access to such strategies, high liquidity, and enhanced  transparency due to the nature of these products,” Morelli adds. 

Hans Stoter, Global Head of AXA IM Core, added: “We are observing long term trends such as blockchain technology, banking disintermediation and the emergence of online brokerage platforms which can transform the way funds are distributed. In that regard, we believe active ETFs will play an important role in the evolution of the asset management industry and we believe we are well placed to embrace such an evolution.

“Even though ETFs are often viewed as passive investments, historically replicating the portfolio holdings and performance of broad market indices, the ETF market has evolved to now offer a range of non-traditional custom-built portfolios. Today’s ETF can be actively managed, further expanding investor choice. In that regard, our new ETF range will complement our wide range of mutual funds.”

In the context of this launch, Brieuc Louchard has joined AXA IM as Head of ETF Capital Markets, joining from Euronext where he was Head of ETF.

Investing in The Evolution of Medical Technology

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Throughout history, the intersection between technology and medicine has touched the lives of nearly every person in the world. Whether it’s the development of technology that allows us to look deep inside the body or breakthrough medicines that extend the lives of those with chronic diseases, these advances have not only impacted our lives, but also intensified pharmaceutical drug development over the past few decades.

The earliest drugs of our days, or “conventional medicines,” were first developed in the early 20th century, and were initially made from small molecules that were chemically synthesized in a lab. In the last decade biologics have become one of the fastest-growing areas of modern pharmaceuticals.

Biologic drugs are fundamentally different than conventional, small molecule-based drugs. Rather than being synthesized chemically, biologics — as the term suggests — ultimately derive from living organisms (e.g., bacteria, yeast, and even animal tissues or cells) and are considered large molecular drugs. In comparison to the development of conventional drugs, the production of biologic drugs requires a highly complex manufacturing process.

Today, biologic drugs, or “biopharmaceuticals,” are the fastest-growing parts of the pharmaceutical industry. According to McKinsey, biopharmaceuticals generate global revenues of $163 billion, making up about 20% of the pharmaceutical market. While biologic drugs have clearly become the medicine of today, we believe the next frontier in treatments will likely be in cell and gene therapy (CGT).

The foundational concept of CGT is developing treatments that aim to alter the genetic instruction of a patient’s cells. It accomplishes this by either replacing defective or absent genes with healthy ones, or by changing the way genes are regulated by the body so that defective cells can operate normally. These advances will be game changers because they can help cure or significantly improve the management of diseases that currently have few or no existing treatments. Moreover, the application of CGT can cover a wide range of challenging conditions, such as advanced, late-stage cancer or rare, inherited genetic disorders.

The Future Is in Cell and Gene Therapies

The past five years have been the renaissance period for CGT innovations, and COVID-19 accelerated the pace of these developments even more. According to a 2019 FDA report, in the last two years alone, CGT developers submitted almost 500 applications to the FDA to begin clinical trials. Of those submitted, the FDA anticipates that by 2025 roughly 10 to 20 CGT products will be approved every year. Given the pace of therapies expected to hit the market, it is no wonder that the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine expects CGT industry revenues to grow at 40% CAGR to $30 billion by 2025.

It is clear that CGT is at an important inflection point. Its trajectory is poised to accelerate as newer CGT therapies come to the market to treat a diverse range of health ailments, such as inherited blindness, cancers, blood disorders, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

We believe CGT is at a tipping point today. Below we highlight two compelling, FDA-approved CGT developments — recent successes that will lay the foundation for the next generation of CGT technologies.

  1. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In 2019, the FDA approved Zolgensma, the first gene therapy approved to treat children under age 2 with SMA, a leading genetic cause of infant mortality when left untreated. SMA is a rare genetic disease caused by a mutation in the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1) that is critical for the functioning of nerve cells that control muscle movement. Children with this rare condition have issues holding their head up, swallowing, and even breathing. Zolgensma delivers a fully functional copy of the SMN1 gene into the target motor neuron cells to improve muscle movement and function.
  2. Lymphoma. In early 2021, the FDA approved Breyanzi, a cell-based gene therapy to treat patients with certain types of large B-cell lymphoma cancer. Each dose of Breyanzi is a customized treatment that uses the patient’s own T-cells to help fight relapsed or refractory disease.

What’s on the Horizon for Cell and Gene Therapy?

The remarkable developments mentioned above are only the tip of the iceberg for the CGT landscape. The clinical pipeline is robust. Over half of the trials focus on oncology, and they are sponsored equally by industry, academic participants, and governments. While historically only a small fraction of these trials is likely to become a FDA approved CGT product, the therapies that do get approved will provide enormous, life-changing benefits to patients who otherwise would have little hope for a cure or a meaningful improvement in their disease. Personalized treatments can reduce the need for chronic therapies and improve the quality of life for many.

Thus, even if a small selection of these clinical trials receives the FDA green light, the implications could still be far-reaching for the healthcare system and its patients. Notably, we anticipate a shift in the incurrence and timing of healthcare costs.

Identifying Next-Gen Opportunities for Investors

Although CGT is still a relatively nascent market compared with that of biologics, we see tremendous growth opportunities in biopharmaceutical manufacturers and biotechnology companies. Specifically, we view companies that provide the equipment, consumables, or services critical to the development and delivery of therapies as especially attractive. These key players can indirectly benefit when new therapies come into the market without being exposed to the binary risks of clinical trial outcomes. For example, these companies may include:

  • Transportation companies skilled in moving patient samples that are sensitive to temperature or other variables to processing facilities.
  • Manufacturing companies with expanded capability and capacity to produce T-cells.
  • Compliance companies that ensure product safety and quality through oversight and implementation of biomanufacturing processes.
  • Infusion companies providing at-home infusion for patients who can’t go to hospitals.
  • Bioprocessing companies that increase production yields while lowering manufacturing costs.

The outlook for the CGT field is promising due to the robust clinical trial pipeline, the increased rate of FDA approvals, and patient enthusiasm. We believe continued advances in CGT will transform the way we treat diseases and dramatically alter the delivery of healthcare on both the individual and industry levels.

Investments in Technology and Automation Pay Off for Retirement Plan Providers

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Plan providers are making sizable investments in technology to enhance their suite of online resources to improve digital participant experiences and better connect with a younger generation entering the workforce, according to the latest Cerulli Edge—U.S. Retirement Edition.

From education-oriented designs to targeted communications, plan providers are leveraging the latest advances in digital technologies to complement or enhance human-provided services.

Plan providers are increasingly focusing on proactive means to encourage participants to attend to their finances.

Communications sent via email blasts and “nudges” can be sent to specifically targeted groups of participants using algorithms that determine who is most likely to benefit from certain recommended actions.

Recordkeepers and third-party providers of financial wellness programs have improved online interactions with participants by adopting “journey-based” website designs—guided experiences that help participants accomplish common online procedures, such as enrolling in the plan or making an initial investment selection, and improve the quality and relevance of financial education resources.

Employees may already be benefitting from these efforts. According to recent Cerulli research, 25% of plan participants now prefer to receive 401(k) account information via email, up from just 9% in 2020. 86% of participants find savings tools and calculators on their 401(k) website very or somewhat helpful for retirement planning compared to 77% in 2020. 72% express the same sentiment regarding the articles, videos, and webinars offered online by their plan provider—a 20% jump from 2020 (52%).

Plan providers are also continuing to expand and improve their presence on social media platforms, in part as a strategy to better engage with younger workforce entrants. “Generation Z exhibits a greater preference for digital communications and social media from their provider compared to participants overall,” states David Kennedy, senior analyst.

“Building a positive and encouraging experience with a recordkeeper at this early stage in Gen Z participants’ financial lives may make them more likely to continue an investment relationship in future decades,” he adds.

Over the long term, an agnostic and agile approach to choosing which communication channels to use is likely to be most effective for plan providers. Technological innovations go hand-in-hand with advances, and disruptions, in communication channels.

“As disruptors inevitably gain momentum to become major communication networks, providers should be prepared to adapt so that the relevance of their messaging isn’t undermined by the decreasing relevance of the channels used to deliver it,” concludes Kennedy.