Paris-based DNCA Finance, which has recently become a Natixis’ boutique, rebrands itself as DNCA Investments, celebrating 15 years of existence.
This change aims to improve the visibility of the firm towards international investors as it is now set to speed up its development both on retail and institutional businesses by using Natixis’ global distribution platform. «In order to expand internationally DNCA decided to slightly adapt “its signature” and make it sound more global. The name of the legal entity remains DNCA Finance but the marketing brand becomes DNCA Investments, that way it resonates globally”, the company says to Funds Society.
DNCA Investments intends to enter new markets, including Spain, and to expand its presence in existing markets such as Germany, Switzerland, USA Offshore and Latin America.
DNCA Investments, which has expertise in European equities, manages €16.5bn in assets as at June 2015.
Foto: Nothing is impossible for a willing heart, Flickr, Creative Commons.. Radiografía del sector tecnológico en Asia
China’s stock market crash must act as a wake-up call for investors to urgently reassess their portfolios, warns the chief executive of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of deVere Group, is speaking out as the China stock market’s downward spiral enters its third week, with share prices losing 30 per cent of their value since the middle of June.
Mr Green observes: “Much of the world’s attention is on Greece right now. Whilst it is right that investors keep a close eye on the Greek saga, one eye must remain firmly on the burgeoning crisis in China.
“With the Chinese stock market losing a third of its value since mid June, which is about equivalent to the UK’s entire economic output last year, or in other terms the GDP of Greece every two days for the last 10 days, this has all the makings of morphing into a major financial crisis.
“China’s government and regulators appear to be pulling out all the stops to support share prices – including a defacto suspension of new listings and interest rates being cut to new record lows – although investors seem to be unconvinced that this will help.
“Despite few foreign investors having much exposure to the Chinese stock markets, the meltdown matters.
“Indeed, it is hugely significant because it will send shock waves throughout global capital markets, not least because China is the world’s second largest economy and one of the largest consumers of commodities and other goods sold by other countries.
“As such, China, not Greece, is arguably the main cause for concern for investors right now.”
Mr Green continues: “Bearing in mind the potentially enormous fallout of China’s plunging markets, I would urge investors to urgently reassess their portfolios to ensure they are appropriately diversified.
“Investors with the most diversified portfolios stand to lose the least. Geopolitical events like this highlight once again the need for multi asset investing, across regions and asset classes, as a way of reducing the adverse consequences of such events.”
He adds: “Failure to diversify a portfolio is widely regarded as one of the most common investment pitfalls – and history teaches us that diversification in these times of rising market volatility is even more essential as the tides can change quickly. Spreading your money around is a vital tool to manage risk.”
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrFoto: Aedo Pulltrone, Flickr, Creative Commons. Hector Sants sustituye a Gian A. Rossi como presidente de Julius Baer London
Sir Hector Sants se ha unido a Julius Baer International Limited como presidente, un puesto que ocupa desde el pasado 1 de julio.
Sants sustituye a Gian A. Rossi, responsable de Europa del norte, central y del Este, y miembro del Consejo Ejecutivo de Julius Baer & Co. Ltd, que deja de ser presidente tras nueve años en el cargo pero seguirá estando activamente implicado con el negocio de la firma en Reino Unido.
Sants trabajó en la Financial Services Authority (FSA) de Reino Unido como CEO de 2007 a 2012, uniéndose a la FSA desde Credit Suisse First Boston, donde había sido CEO para Europa, Oriente Medio y África. Tras abandonar Barclays Bank en noviembre de 2013, ha liderado el grupo de trabajo del Arzobispado de Canterbury para promover el ahorro responsable y el crédito y asesoramiento a Abu Dhabi Global Market. Desde el pasado 1 de julio, también trabaja como vicepresidente y socio de Oliver Wyman.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrBill Gross volverá a trabajar con uno de los fundadores de Kapstream Capital, con el que coincidió en PIMCO durante 10 años.. Janus Capital compra el 51% de la gestora australiana de renta fija flexible Kapstream
Janus Capital Group ha anunciado y cerrado la compra de una participación mayoritaria en la gestora australiana Kapstream Capital, gestora global especialista en renta fija sin restricciones, con 6.600 millones de dólares bajo gestión, con datos a 31 de marzo de 2015. Con la transacción, los activos en estrategias de Renta Fija Global Macro ascienden a 8.700 millones de dólares.
La compra incluye un pago inicial en cash de unos 85 millones de dólares, si bien Janus tiene la opción de comprar el 49% restante de la compañía en el futuro.
Los veteranos de renta fija Kumar Palghat y Nick Maroutsos fundaron Kapstream en 2006, una de las gestoras pioneras en la gestión de renta fija global sin restricciones. Bill Gross, que se unió a Janus en 2014, Dick Weil (CEO de Janus Capital) y Palhat trabajaron juntos en PIMCO durante diez años.
Ahora, el equipo de Renta Fija Global Macro seguirá estando separado, siendo autónomo y con distintas capacidades de las del equipo de Renta Fija Fundamental en Janus, dos plataformas en las que la gestora seguirá invirtiendo, dice la firma, pues ofrecen estrategias complementarias.
Gross seguirá siendo el gestor principal de la estrategia Janus Global Unconstrained Bond, con Palghat apoyándole como co-gestor. Este último seguirá siendo gestor del Kapstream Absolute Return Income Fund y Steve Goldman –de Kapstream- asumirá un mayor rol en la gestión de las estrategias de Kapstream, que no cambiarán.
El equipo combinado de Renta Fija Global Macro (con 15 profesionales tras la transacción) operará conjuntamente desde la base de Kapstream en Sidney y desde la de Janus en Newport Beach, en California.
CC-BY-SA-2.0, FlickrIleana Salas será la responsable de mantener las relaciones en mercados clave de Europa y LatAm y del desarrollo de nuevos mercados. Foto cedida. Ileana Salas: nueva responsable global de Ventas Institucionales de Santander AM
Santander Asset Management (SAM) ha anunciado esta mañana en un comunicado el nombramiento de un nuevo responsable global de Ventas Institucionales, puesto que ocupará Ileana Salas, que se une a la entidad desde Bradesco Asset Management. El nombramiento llega en un momento en el que la gestora busca desarrollar sus capacidades institucionales de forma global.
Con sede en Londres, Salas será responsable de construir y liderar las capacidades de ventas institucionales de la entidad, y de introducir a Santander AM en nuevos mercados, mientras fortalece la presencia de la entidad en países clave de Europa y Latinoamérica, incluyendo Reino Unido, España, Portugal, Alemania, México, Brasil y Chile.
Salas también dirigirá el desarrollo de las relaciones clave de Santander AM con los fondos soberanos nacionales, los planes de pensiones, los consultores de inversiones, las empresas, las aseguradoras, los clientes mayoristas y los family offices.
Salas se une a Santander AM desde Bradesco Asset Management, donde fue responsable de Desarrollo de Negocio y Ventas para Europa y Oriente Medio durante cuatro años. Antes, tuvo roles de desarrollo de negocio en entidades como ABN Amro, Gartmore Investment Management o Schroders. Tiene un MBA del Babson College.
“El desarrollo de nuestro negocio institucional de forma global es una parte core de nuestos planes estratégicos de crecimiento y refleja nuestras ambiciones de ser un proveedor global líder de soluciones de inversión a los clientes”, comenta Juan Alcaraz, el CEO global de Santander Asset Management. “Con más de 20 años de experiencia en ventas institucionales, Salas tiene un fuerte track record de éxito a la hora de desarrollar y construir equipos de distribución global y negocio institucional. Es una gran incorporación a nuestro equipo de liderazgo senior y Comité Ejecutivo”, añade en su comunicado.
Foto: OTA Photos. Beamonte Investments México invertirá en Master Kiwi
Beamonte Investments, junto con su afiliado Beamonte México, invertirá en Master Kiwi, una innovadora plataforma que simplifica la creación de videojuegos a los diseñadores y les ayuda con las campañas de marketing. Está previsto que la operación se cierre a lo largo del verano y el importe no ha sido desvelado.
Master Kiwi es la ganadora de la primera Venture Academy celebrada en México, que tuvo lugar entre los días 27 y 29 de mayo de este año y en la que participaron más de 45 emprendedores. Se trata de un seminario acelerado, dividido en seis módulos que incluyen gestión, valoraciones y financiación, entre otros.
Claudia Yan de Venture Academy declaró: “Estamos muy satisfechos de crear una plataforma a través de la que poder enseñar a emprendedores -como Alejandro y Master Kiwi- y a través de la que ayudarles a desarrollar las aptitudes necesarias para conseguir financiación institucional. El primer encuentro ha sido un éxito tremendo gracias a partners como Cinepolis, Posible y Coopel”. El próximo encuentro de Venture Academy se celebrará a finales de agosto en Monterrey, México y acogerá hasta a 50 emprendedores.
Alejandro Hernandez, hoy CEO, fundó Master Kiwi en febrero de este año y ha sido incubada gracias a que Wayra México –el acelerador de Telefónica– lo incluyó en su promoción de 2014. La empresa ofrece una plataforma con una amplia gama de juegos prediseñados, a través de una interface visual, sencilla y muy intuitiva permite generar un juego en minutos, en línea con la imagen de marca o de la compañía que lance las campañas de marketing.
Luis F. Trevino, director de Beamonte Investments, aseguró que están «muy ilusionados de poder invertir en Master Kiwi y ayudarles a hacer crecer la compañía hasta el siguiente nivel. Vemos un potencial inmenso en una plataforma como Master Kiwi que permite crear un videojuego en segundos».
The Board of Directors of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. announced the appointment of Jason A. Kulas as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kulas succeeds Thomas G. Dundon, the company’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in line with SCUSA’s Board-approved succession plan. Mr. Dundon will continue to serve as a member of the SCUSA Board of Directors and as a senior adviser to the company.
After successfully growing the SCUSA business over the last 20 years, including nine years as CEO, Mr. Dundon has decided to pursue new opportunities.
The Board of SCUSA has appointed Lead Outside Director Stephen Ferriss as interim Chairman, effective until the July 15 SCUSA annual meeting.
Mr. Dundon said: «I am proud to have been part of the company’s success and fortunate to have worked with so many outstanding, driven colleagues over the years. This is a great company and with Jason Kulas at the helm, supported by our talented management team, I am confident SCUSA will become an even stronger player in the consumer finance industry.»
Scott Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Santander Holdings USA and head of Santander’s operations in the United States, said: «We thank Tom for his vision and leadership as a founder of SCUSA, and a driver of its growth and success. Jason Kulas has the experience and strategic vision to lead SCUSA. Jason has been with SCUSA for eight years and has a deep understanding of its business, operations and people. I am confident in his ability to lead this business into the future.»
Mr. Kulas joined the company in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer, after covering SCUSA, since its founding, as an investment banker at JPMorgan. As CFO, he oversaw the company’s treasury, accounting, financial planning, capital markets and corporate strategy divisions. Mr. Kulas became President in 2013 and, since SCUSA’s IPO in 2014, has overseen the company’s corporate development, asset management, investor relations and various regulatory functions including the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. Mr. Kulas will join the Board of Directors of SCUSA and, subject to regulatory approvals, Santander Holdings USA.
Mr. Kulas said: «I am honored by the Board’s decision to name me as Tom’s successor. Tom was pivotal in growing the Company from a local start-up to a leading, national technology-driven consumer finance business. The changes in Tom’s role at SCUSA have been amicably agreed and are unrelated to the company’s performance or regulatory standing. On behalf of the company’s management team, I thank him for his valuable contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. This is an exciting time for the business and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we seek to grow the business in the months and years ahead.»
Jason Grubb, Chief Operating Officer, Originations of SCUSA, will succeed Mr. Kulas as President. Mr. Grubb joined SCUSA in 2004 as Senior Vice President of Servicing. He was Chief Operating Officer from January 2007to October 2014 and became Chief Operating Officer, Originations in October 2014. Prior to joining SCUSA, Mr. Grubb held positions at WFS Financial, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp, and Commercial Financial Services.
Jennifer Popp has been appointed interim Chief Financial Officer of SCUSA while a search is underway for a permanent replacement. Ms. Popp has served in the finance industry since 2001, and joined SCUSA in July 2012. She most recently served as Chief Accounting Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
In connection with Mr. Dundon’s departure as SCUSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Santander Holdings USA will, subject to the applicable regulatory approvals, exercise a call option to acquire all of the approximately 9.68% of SCUSA common stock held by DDFS LLC, an entity solely owned by Mr. Dundon.
Additional details regarding Mr. Dundon’s separation will be filed by SCUSA with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
José Luis Ruiz. ¿Cómo valorar compañías? Financial modeling, pricing companies, M&A
“Financial modeling, pricing companies, M&A” es el nombre del curso que Riskmathics celebrará entre los días 12 y 27 de agosto de este año en México Distrito Federal –Torre Mayor, Av. Reforma- con el fin de presentar los diferentes métodos utilizados para la fijación de precios de start-ups, compañías consolidadas y la valoración de fusiones y adquisiciones (M&A).
El curso abarca una amplia gama de temas -desde básicos hasta avanzados- y métodos de valoración, tanto “intrínsecos” como relativos que lo hacen interesante desde distintas perspectivas: la del que desea realizar una inversión o administrar un portafolio de inversiones privadas, la de quien tiene interés de vender, comprar o fusionar compañías propias o de terceros, la de quien busca recibir financiación privada o aquella de quien simplemente desea conocer el valor de su compañía.
Para más información o inscripciones, puede seguir este link
Foto: LenDog64. John Hancock Investments entra en el negocio de los UCITS
John Hancock acaba de anunciar el lanzamiento de John Hancock Worldwide Investors, PLC, una plataforma UCITS domiciliada en Dublin y diseñada para ampliar el ámbito de actuación de la visión “manager-of-managers” de la firma. Desde esta misma semana, la firma ofrecerá cuatro de sus estrategias de inversión –con altos rankings- dirigidos a los no residentes en Estados Unidos y los programas UCITS de sus distribuidores en el país.
Como parte de su compromiso con este estratégico mercado, John Hancock Investments ha fichado a la veterana Angela Billick para liderar la plataforma de productos. Billick aportará sus casi 20 años de experiencia en el desarrollo de negocio internacional en UCITS para satisfacer las necesidades de los inversores.
“Estamos encantados de poder ofrecer nuestro destacado ¨manager selection¨ y de poder supervisar nuevos mercados” declara Andrew G. Arnott, presidente y CEO. «Nuestra nueva plataforma UCITS es una continuación natural al rápido desarrollo que hemos experimentado en Estados Unidos y un reflejo de la fuerte demanda que hemos recibido por parte de los bróker dealers norteamericanos asociados a nuestra firma para que ofreciéramos fondos offshore que fueran una réplica de algunos de nuestros fondos mutuos de Estados Unidos más populares”
John Hancock Worldwide Investors pone a disposición de los inversores cuatro de las estrategias más deseadas. Estas estrategias iniciales son gestionadas por los equipos de Manulife Asset Management y GMO Europe LLC:
John Hancock Strategic Income Opportunities Fund
John Hancock High Yield Fund
John Hancock U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund
John Hancock Global Equity (Ex.-U.S.) Fund
“Creemos que estas cuatro estrategias ayudan a satisfacer la demanda por parte de los inversores de nuevas fuentes de ingresos, junto con estrategias consolidadas en equities con ciertas medidas de protección frente a caídas” dice Leo M. Zerilli, CIMA, director de inversiones de John Hancock Investments. «Estos no son solo retos para los inversores norteramericanos, son retos globales”
As the crackdown on «closet trackers» gathers pace in Europe, concerns are growing that the metric used to identify those funds that charge active management fees while merely hugging the index could undermine performance, according to the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge – Global Edition.
The regulatory spotlight has fallen on closet trackers recently. In May the Swedish government launched an investigation in the wake of the Swedish Shareholders’ Association filing a lawsuit against a leading fund house, alleging that it had mis-sold closet trackers to retail investors. Regulators in Denmark and Norway have also been proactive.
Cerulli Associates, a global analytics firm, notes that in response to heightening regulatory scrutiny more managers are voluntarily disclosing data showing the extent to which a fund’s portfolio diverges from its benchmark. «Active share» is the most commonly used measure, with a score less than 60% deemed to be index hugging.
«Active share, however, is no panacea and used in isolation is more likely to be misleading. It should be used alongside other relevant metrics, such as information ratio data showing the portfolio returns above the benchmark in relation to the volatility of those returns,» says Barbara Wall, Europe research director at Cerulli Associates.
Noting that there are times in an investment cycle when it might be prudent to stay close to the benchmark, Cerulli warns that a manager who feels obliged to maintain a certain active share is at risk of picking the wrong stocks simply to increase the deviation from the benchmark. Strict adherence to the tool may also prevent a manager from buying stocks that have a large weight in the index, even if they are expected to outperform.
Another limitation concerns the definition of being «active», which typically refers to the actual shares that are owned. But «active» can also apply to a portfolio that largely adheres to the index, provided the manager has not simply taken a buy-and-hold approach and that performance is influenced by the timing of trades in those constituents.
Firms that are already disclosing the active share figure tend to have house management styles that are unconstrained in relation to benchmarks. Firms where the emphasis is on delivering outperformance with a relatively low-risk, low-active share element would be understandably anxious, says Cerulli, about publishing their active share figure. «They would also point out–with some justification–that a low active share doesn’t mean they are a closet tracker and that they should be judged on performance alone,» says Wall.
Cerulli believes that, used in conjunction with other metrics, active share can be a useful tool in promoting accountability and transparency. Laura D’Ippolito, a senior analyst at Cerulli, says: «Views within the European fund industry on the value of the active share figure differ widely, but what is clear is that the debate–which also takes in the active/passive issue–is only going to intensify.»
Other Findings:
With active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at long last gaining traction in the United States, active mutual fund managers should seriously consider offering their strategies in these securities, advises Cerulli. It notes, however, that the path to success remains difficult. Another structure the firm recommends is the new exchange-traded managed fund.
The penetration rate of mutual funds in Asia ex-Japan has dropped to about 6.5% of household financial assets (HHFA) in 2013 from 9% in 2009, despite HHFAs expanding at, or close to, double-digit rates annually. Cerulli believes that the decline can in part be attributed to the short-termism that drives investment–in Taiwan, for instance, Cerulli has found that fund retention ranges from about six to nine months for the average investor, while in China it can be as short as a month. The firm says that analysis of the decision-making provides useful insights for determining product selection.
In the United Kingdom, active management is no longer the be-all and end-all for discretionary investment managers, says Cerulli, noting that a combination of regulatory change and the low-growth environment is forcing firms to review costs and portfolios. Not only are passive funds now more common in discretionary portfolios, but their role–and that of active funds–is changing. The analytics firm says that active managers face a challenge in staying relevant in a world in which cost is king, passives are core, and sustainable alpha is key.
