Morgan Stanley announced that it will limit its brokers to 90 days per year to perform remote work.
The wirehouse is looking to get staff back in the office and fulfill supervisory duties, according to several inside sources familiar with the changes consigned by Advisorhub.
The policy changes will take effect July 1st.
Morgan Stanley CEO’s James Gorman has been a strong advocate of the move back to the office. Gorman has repeatedly reiterated that “anyone who goes to a restaurant should also come to the office and learn from their peers.”
Brokers requesting additional time to work remotely will have to demonstrate an alternative work location. Eligibility for a remote office will be based on criteria such as length of service or membership in production-based recognition clubs and senior approval.
Those working from an alternate remote location will also be subject to additional monitoring requirements, such as periodic remote inspections.
It is uncertain how many brokers will be able to opt for alternative jobs, a Morgan Stanley spokesperson told the U.S. media outlet.
On the other hand, flexibility options will differ from employee to employee depending on their role and eligibility.
This measure may cause some brokers to leave the company. Especially if some competing firms such as UBS Wealth Management USA are taken into account.
The Swiss firm has said it will not force U.S. brokers to return to their position. Bank of America, on the other hand, called its employees back to the office on March 1, although brokers were exempt from this policy.
PIMCO has hired Jaime Estevez in Miami as Account Manager.
The advisor comes after six years at BlackRock as a member of BlackRock’s offshore sales team for its Miami distribution business, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to industry sources, Estevez will be part of the team that serves Latin American clients.
In the team he was part of at BlackRock, he covered the US Offshore market, Uruguay and Argentina.
Prior to BlackRock, Estevez worked at Highland Capital Management within their sales team in Dallas, Texas.
In addition, his first Finra booking was in 2014 for Fidelity.
Insigneo, has appointed a new Head of Investment Products, Mirko Joldzic, who joined the firm today, based in the firm’s Miami Headquarter reporting to Javier Rivero, Insigneo’s president and COO.
Mr. Joldzic will be responsible for leading the investment product team and setting the strategic direction of the Asset Management product range, including the development of new products, banking/lending opportunities and collaborating across the organization to identify opportunities and enhancements that will competitively differentiate Insigneo’s product offering.
He also will be supporting the development of new business opportunities and contributing to Insigneo’s recent expansion in Latin America and throughout the United States, according the company’s statement.
Rivero said: “I am happy to welcome Mirko to the Insigneo leadership team as we continue to build our product offering to provide Investment Professionals with a robust platform that is unparalleled in the market.”
Mr. Joldzic has an extensive background in financial services, most recently at Raymond James. He was also part of key teams at world renowned organizations such as UBS, Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America. He has a BA of Science Finance from Montclair State University and additionally holds the series 7 and 66 licenses.
“I am excited to join Insigneo and take on this new challenge in my career. I have been following Insigneo in the marketplace and its growth trajectory. I look forward to contributing to the long-term growth plans of the firm. I am also thrilled to join a firm, and a leadership team, whose focus is to offer innovative product solutions and exemplary service to our network of Investment Professionals and help them realize their goals.” said Joldzic.
Selecting high yield securities has always required heightened due diligence but when ESG factors are included, the analysis is even more challenging.
Potential developments such as prospective environmental regulations, carbon taxes, social change and pressure on corporate governance, disproportionately affect high yield companies. This is partly because their higher levels of leverage mean the effects of change can be magnified in asset valuations.
Investors today rely heavily on data, but disclosure and data linked to environmental, social and governance metrics can be less comprehensive in the high yield space than for other types of security.
However, this makes this area of the market arguably an untapped ESG opportunity, especially given the huge swathes of capital that have already flooded into mostly tech-driven equity ESG plays.
Drilling down
To invest in the high-yield market through an ESG lens involves sophisticated data harvesting and analysis.
This is increasingly the case given the rising supply of ESG or sustainability bonds being issued by high yield firms.
It’s crucial to isolate a firm’s ESG risks and consider what measures the issuer is putting in place to mitigate these and whether they are comprehensive enough to mitigate the potential downside.
One key element is how well a company’s senior leadership team can adapt to the new paradigm and recognise ESG factors in its pay, policies and performance indicators. These can be positive pointers for investors who are increasingly evaluating the wider costs and opportunities which different businesses and sectors face.
Some may already be sustainable, others may need to pivot, whilst some may be dinosaurs destined for terminal decline.
Making the journey
It’s vital to view sustainability as something that must be achieved rather than simply excluding any firm that doesn’t already have perfect ESG credentials.
One could make the argument that some companies with the most progress to make in respect of their ESG credentials could deliver the most outsized gains, as well as having the greatest marginal gain for society and the environment.
As these companies mature and become ESG leaders, their valuation metrics are likely to improve.
This notion is supported by studies which have shown that bonds from companies with higher ESG scores outperformed those with low ESG scores during the 2008/09 financial crisis.
So, doing well by doing good brings benefits during bad times as well as good.
Achieving equilibrium
It’s also vital for investors to balance their portfolio with securities from companies that have to, and importantly can, make big strides in terms of their sustainability credentials, with those that have already made them.
Opportunities to invest in such companies will make ESG debt more compelling and encourage a significant capital reallocation into sustainable debt.
ESG assets under management hit $35 trillion globally in 2020, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, with ESG debt funds accounting for just $3 trillion of this.
However, ESG bonds are now widely viewed as one of the key growth areas in the sustainable investing space, with predictions that by 2025, they could account for $11 trillion of a total $50 trillion ESG fund market.
The momentum and sea change is already happening; investors may want to assess the opportunities now before the ESG debt space becomes as crowded as its ESG equity peer.
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Lila Fekih & Mark Remington, Co-Portfolio Managers, New Capital Sustainable World High-Yield Bond Fund
EFG Asset Management (EFGAM) is an international provider of actively managed investment products and services to financial intermediaries and institutional investors around the world.
EFGAM’s New Capital funds and strategies offer a focused range of actively managed, specialist strategies across equity, fixed income, alternative and multi-asset within both developed and emerging markets. The strategies are available in a variety of structures including AIFs, CITs, SMAs and UCITS, and are available through vehicles domiciled in Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hong Kong and the United States.
EFGAM manages approximately USD 32 billion (as of December 2021) on behalf of clients.
For professional investors / trade press only. Not to be used with or distributed to retail clients.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. The opinions herein are those of EFG Asset Management (“EFGAM”) as of the date of this article and are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions.
Wells Fargo announced today $1 million in donations across three nonprofits to enable humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, as well as support services for U.S. service members and their families across the globe.
The funding was distributed among the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and the USO.
American Red Cross, in coordination with the global Red Cross network including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – A global first responder, the Red Cross is distributing food, water, first aid supplies, medical supplies, clothing and other urgent support as well as providing temporary shelter to people affected by the crisis.
World Central Kitchen provides meals in times of crisis. Their team is currently serving tens of thousands of meals to Ukrainian families fleeing their homes as well as those who remain in country.
The USO is rapidly responding with support for American service members in Eastern Europe with call centers, hygiene and meal kits, care packages, and other essentials. It also offers resources that provide care and comfort to U.S. service member families during this stressful time.
In addition, the company is making it easier for its employees to support these organizations through its internal employee giving system. Wells Fargo is also amplifying employee generosity to these organizations through its Community Care Grants program, allowing donations of up to $1,000 to qualify for additional grant dollars to further extend impact.
“In times like this, it’s important we come together to support those most impacted,” said Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf.
Scharf adds: “We appreciate the nonprofits on the ground and hope our grants will enable them to accelerate getting humanitarian aid to those who require it most. At the same time, we want to support our nation’s military, which is often called upon in times of need, and we will continue to provide essential services for service members and their families.”
Both Mariscal Lozano and Bestard arrive from UBS’s Coral Gables office.
As for Bestard, who has more than 25 years in the Miami industry, he has worked at UBS since 2013 when he arrived from Morgan Stanley where he served from 2007 to 2013, according to his BrokerCheck records.
The advisor started in 1997 at Lehman Brothers where he worked for 10 years until 2007.
Mariscal Lozano started in 1999 at Lehman Brothers and moved to Morgan Stanley in 2007 where he worked until 2013 when he moved to UBS. Always based in Miami, according to his Finra profile.
Finally, Rivera, also with Miami experience, started at Morgan Stanley between 2008 and 2015. He then moved in 2015 to Jefferies until late last year, according to BrokerCheck.
Foto cedidaEvento Global Markets Outlook de StoneX
Copyright: Stonex. ..
StoneX held its Global Markets Outlook at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando on March 3rd, where they presented the most important topics to watch out for this year.
In a context of inescapable war, the most important topics were based on inflation, ESG investment, commodity prices and the explosion of the crypto world.
The event was attended by almost 500 people from the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, United States, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
Inflation call to Switzerland and the emerging markets
Inflation is the talk of the industry, and the StoneX event was no exception.
In this regard, Vincent Deluard reviewed the macro view and came to several conclusions. The first, and the one that has been heard the most in recent days, is that it is very difficult for inflation to moderate in the first boreal.
Moreover, Deluard explained that bank credit, labor shortages and wealth shock will drive inflation in 2022.
On the other hand, a devaluation of Asian currencies, especially China, is to be expected and he also concluded that monopolies and the rise of the Gig Economy will create a direct dependence between prices and wages.
Finally, the expert stressed that a portfolio of Swiss and emerging assets should be the new 60/40 portfolio.
Commodity prices and South America
One cannot talk about commodities without taking China into account. In this regard, Blu Putnam, Chief Economist of CME Group, commented that the Asian giant generated a super revolution in the price of commodities, but warned that it is not the same economy of a few decades ago.
On the other hand, Putman talked about South American farmers. The expert said that normally when we see high prices “we think that farmers will have good yields”.
However, the CME Group executive warned that producers will have many high costs, such as fertilizers.
“Farmers will have to think very, very carefully, because although they will sell at higher prices, they will have much higher costs,” he said.
Finally, he made a point about the weather and the La Niña phenomenon in Argentina that could bring problems with drought to producers in that South American country.
In relation to the criteria for ESG investment, Vincent Deluard, Director of Global Macro Strategy at StoneX and economist Andrew Busch, former CMIO and former US government official, discussed the pros and cons of this type of investment and its performance in portfolios.
Among several of the arguments made in favor of ESG, the importance of following company ratings was highlighted. On the other hand, it was noted that if demand continues to grow, production will have to respond to that demand, making it more difficult to maintain parameters.
Foto cedidaJosé Castellano dará el relevo a Jamie Hammond como responsable de Distribución Internacional de iM Global Partner.. José Castellano abandona su puesto como Deputy CEO y responsable de Distribución Internacional de iM Global Partner
José Castellano, until now Deputy CEO and Head of International Distribution at iM Global Partner, is leaving the firm. As of April 4th, 2022, he will remain as Senior Advisor of the firm.
According to iM Global Partner’s statements to Funds Society, his mission will be to assist the firm in its future developments. Jamie Hammond will take over from Castellano as head of International Distribution.
“Jose has decided to distance himself from the intense daily management required by his role as ‘Deputy CEO, Head of International distribution’. From April 4th, 2022, he will become Senior Advisor of iM Global Partner with the main mission of helping the company in its future developments,” the company explains.
From the firm, they add: “We would like to strongly thank Jose for his very significant contribution within iM Global Partner in building its international distribution network. We are also happy that he has agreed to remain active on behalf of iM Global Partner.”.
Castellano said: “Obviously I also thank Philippe Couvrecelle for envisioning and leading very passionately and successfully this amazing company.”
Jamie Hammond will take over from Castellano as head of International Distribution. Hammond is a veteran and one of the best-known distribution executives in the business, with a great track record and experience, and who fully shares iM Global Partner’s vision and values. He currently heads the firm’s EMEA Distribution area and is Deputy CEO.
Extensive experience
Castellano joined the firm in March 2021 to support iM Global Partner’s development outside the United States. At that time, he joined directly for the dual role of Deputy CEO and Head of International Business Development. He has extensive experience in the sector, having spent 25 years in the distribution business in this industry.
Within his professional career, it is worth highlighting his time at Pioneer Investments, where he spent 17 years and was one of the main distribution executives for the Asia Pacific, Latin America, United States and Iberia regions. Under his leadership, these regions experienced the highest growth worldwide, making the fund manager one of the most important players in each of these markets. Prior to joining Pioneer Investments in January 2001, he was head of Morgan Stanley’s private equity group for two years and head of Wealth Management for another seven years at Morgan Stanley. José Castellano holds a degree in finance from Saint Louis University and several postgraduate degrees from Nebrija University and IE.
Hammond has more than thirty years of experience in the sector. Prior to joining iM Global Partner last summer, Hammond worked at AllianceBernstein Limited (UK) as Managing Director and Head of the EMEA Client Group. He joined AB in January 2016 as head of EMEA Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Functions. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Franklin Templeton Investments, where his last positions were CEO of UK regulated entities and Managing Director for Europe. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2001 following the acquisition of Fiduciary Trust Company International, where he was Sales Director responsible for mutual fund development in Europe. Prior to that, Hammond held the position of Head of National Sales at Hill Samuel Asset Management, the asset management division of Lloyds TSB Group.
Rafael Guimarães Lopo Lima took over as the new regional director of the Brazil section of Santander Private Banking International’s subsidiary.
Guimarães moved to Miami in January from São Paulo where he was Head of Commercial Private Banking for UHNW clients of the spanish bank.
The promotion follows the promotion of Beltrán Usera to Head of Santander Private Banking International’s new office in New York.
Guimarães has worked at Santander since April 2008 where he started in the role of Senior Private Banker, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Prior to Santander, the banker worked for ABN Ambro Bank in two periods (2006-2008) and (2001-2005). He was also Senior Product Manager at Bank Boston between 2005 and 2006.
Unexpected regulatory actions and concerns over China’s property market were just a couple of reasons for the volatile year in China; however, there are reasons for optimism in 2022. One sign is a clear easing cycle that is already developing in Beijing, which should result in stronger economic performance and improved sentiment among Chinese investors, who drive their domestic exchanges.
Please join us for an interactive discussion with Matthews Asia Investment Strategist Andy Rothman and Portfolio Manager Winnie Chwang as they discuss how last year’s experiences can help us plan for the year ahead and why we believe China’s vibrant, entrepreneurial economy remains well-positioned for dynamic growth. Topics will include:
The state of China’s economy and its economic prospects in 2022
The progress of monetary, fiscal and regulatory policy easing
Key trends and sectors that may impact growth prospects
How our investment team has traversed the regulatory environment
Why an all-share approach may provide proper exposure to the region
Speakers
Andy Rothman
Andy Rothmanis an Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia. He is principally responsible for developing research focused on China’s ongoing economic and political developments while also complementing the broader investment team with in-depth analysis on Asia. In addition, Andy plays a key role in communicating to clients and the media the firm’s perspectives and latest insights into China and the greater Asia region. Prior to joining Matthews Asia in 2014, Andy spent 14 years as CLSA’s China macroeconomic strategist where he conducted analysis into China and delivered his insights to their clients. Previously, Andy spent 17 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a diplomatic career focused on China, including as head of the macroeconomics and domestic policy office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In total, Andy has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years. He earned an M.A. in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a B.A. from Colgate University. He is a proficient Mandarin speaker.
Winnie Chwang
Winnie Chwangis a Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia and manages the firm’s China Small Strategy and co-manages the China and Pacific Tiger Strategies. She joined the firm in 2004 and has built her investment career at the firm. Winnie earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business and received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. She is fluent in Mandarin and conversational in Cantonese.
