Foto: Perspecsys Photos
. JP Morgan Asset Management lanza dos ETFs de renta variable con cobertura de divisa
JP Morgan Asset Management ha anunciado la ampliación de su gama beta estratégica con el lanzamiento de dos nuevos fondos, el JPMorgan Diversified Return Europe Currency Hedged Equity ETF (JPEH) y el JPMorgan Diversified Return International Currency Hedged Equity (JPIH).
Ambos ofrecen un enfoque de riesgo gestionado, que permite a los inversores captar las mayores subidas, con el objetivo de proporcionar la menor volatilidad en los mercados a la baja. Los ETFs diversifican el riesgo sectorial, mientras cubren la exposición de las divisas frente al dólar, proporcionando a los inversores exposición a mercados internacionales de capital con menos riesgo.
JPEH replica el FTSE Developed Europe Diversified Factor, con el 100% de cobertura al dólar y el JPIH sigue el FTSE Developed ex-North America Diversified Factor, también con el 100% del riesgo divisa cubierto.
«Dado que la volatilidad y el riesgo de cambio continúan preocupando a los inversores, los clientes recurren cada vez más a nuestros productos de beta estratégico en busca de un nuevo enfoque para abordar los inconvenientes de los índices de capitalización ponderada en el mercado», dice Robert Deutsch, director global de ETFs de JP Morgan Asset Management. «Estamos encantados de ampliar nuestras capacidades de inversión con ETFs con cobertura de divisa, complementando nuestras estrategias existentes y ofreciendo a los clientes más opciones».
Last week my colleague Erik Knutzen wrote about today’s “show-me-the-money” markets. It’s an important element in our current thinking so I am going to expand on it a little here. But I also want to examine why the very mixed fundamental data we have been seeing, which may not appear to support the recent rally in risk assets, may also be favorable for fixed income credit.
The improvement in sentiment since mid-February, when it looked like the perfect storm was descending on financial markets, has been huge. But is it justified by better fundamental data? That’s not obvious—when you add up the news flow on growth, profits, central bank policy, global production, consumption and jobs, you end up with a pretty mixed bag. A lot of the re-pricing of risk since mid-February was fuelled simply by improved sentiment. We managed to sail around the worst of the storm.
So the big question now is whether the economy can sustain that with a significant improvement in corporate cash flows, earnings and profits: “Show me the money!”
We are cautiously optimistic because we believe the conditions for these improvements are relatively easily met and may already be evident. Four months ago when we took a step back to review 2015, two big themes stood out: We could see that better earnings in the second half of this year would likely result if the dollar stopped going up and oil stopped going down. In our view, it is no coincidence that U.S. corporate cash flow peaked in the second quarter of 2014, when oil was north of $100 per barrel and the dollar was 20% cheaper than today, but both were about to embark on enormous trends. Arrest those two trends and you likely stop much of the rot in both U.S. high-yield cash flows and U.S large-cap earnings. In our view, stable oil prices should relieve the drag the energy sector is exerting on S&P 500 profit margins. Normally a sector that generates above-average profits, the current gap between its margins and those of the rest of the index has never been bigger.
This is why the dollar cheapening by 5% and oil settling above $35 per barrel is a big deal for corporate earnings in the latter half of this year. Combine that with the base effect of coming off a terrible year for profits, and the fact that things have moved so fast that analysts’ assumptions probably haven’t yet taken all this into account, and the coming months could deliver some notable positive surprises in cash flows and earnings.
How do we make the moves we are seeing in U.S. Treasuries fit this thesis? Yields have been falling since mid-March, and some might see that as bond market skepticism about the scenario priced into risky assets.
We don’t think that is the case. There are negative central bank rates in Europe and Japan, and the potential of another summer flare-up of the Greek debt problem is pushing core Eurozone yields ever lower. It would have been impossible for U.S. Treasury yields to escape that gravitational pull even if the Federal Reserve had not become more explicit about the influence of global factors on its policymaking and moved its rate-hike projections substantially lower in March. If U.S. rates do not seem to be in line with U.S. fundamentals at the moment, the more complete explanation is that they are in line with global fundamentals.
Bring all of this together and we think you create a very interesting environment for fixed income credit. These assets eventually enjoyed one of their best quarters for five years in the first quarter, because a mixed bag of data drove rates down and credit spreads tighter—a combination that we haven’t seen much of lately. A similar combination of improving U.S. earnings and the continued gravitational pull of global rates on U.S. Treasuries yields could extend those conditions further into 2016. The contrast with where we were at the beginning of this year, when the Fed looked set to hike rates against a backdrop of faltering global growth, couldn’t be starker.
That is why we are cautiously constructive on risk today. And if the economy starts to show us the money over the next few months, we may be ready to lift some of that caution.
With interest rates at an all-time low, investors are looking for alternatives to term deposits and traditional savings accounts. The fund of fund BL-Fund Selection 0-50 is suitable for those who want higher yields compared to a money-market investment while retaining the advantages of defensive investing. As the name indicates, the equity weighting of the fund cannot exceed 50%.
What are the aims of the fund?
To deliver stable and satisfactory long-term performance, to provide protection against volatile market conditions and to preserve capital in the medium term.
How is the fund managed?
The BL-Fund Selection 0-50 portfolio is both flexible and defensive. I invest in a selection of funds managed by internationally renowned fund managers with no regional, sector or currency restrictions. By investing in external funds, Banque de Luxembourg is able to focus on diversification and benefit from the expertise of good fund managers with solid management processes. No asset class is excluded; the portfolio can contain equities, bonds, commodities, alternative instruments and money-market investments in all currencies. The flexible allocation means I can invest up to 50% in equities. Generally speaking, however, the equity weighting does not exceed 25% of the portfolio. The risk index is 3 on a scale of 1-7.
What are the advantages?
This fund offers natural diversification in terms of both assets and strategies. It can form the basis of a comprehensive defensive wealth management approach.
Who is the target investor?
The BL-Fund Selection 0-50 fund is designed for careful investors who wish to benefit from active, non-benchmarked management that focuses on capital preservation over a 3-year period.
What type of assets does the fund invest in?
The portfolio consists of three main investment blocks: two traditional blocks and one ‘alternative’ block whose purpose is twofold.
Two traditional blocks: Equities, with a structural position in high-quality assets and segments that ‘outperform’ in the long term, with an emphasis on high-quality medium-value stocks. Bonds in niche segments, which generate higher returns than classic securities in today’s low-interest climate.
One ‘alternative’ block whose purpose is twofold: to generate regular returns, in all market conditions, that will offset low bond yields and to create neutral or negative correlation with riskier asset markets.
Schroders is continuing to strengthen its Fixed Income Global Multi-Sector team with the appointment of James Lindsay-Fynn who joins as a portfolio manager focusing on rates and currencies. James joins Schroders from Rogge Global Partners where he was a partner and a global macro portfolio manager specialising in interest rates and currencies for global portfolios.
During his six years at Rogge, James co-managed fixed income total return, global aggregate and government strategies. Other previous positions include absolute return portfolio manager at GAM, associate director at Evolution Securities, part of Investec Plc group of companies, and vice-president in fixed income at Bank of America Securities.
At Schroders, James will be joining the well-established Global Multi-Sector team in London and will report to Paul Grainger, Senior Portfolio Manager.
Philippe Lespinard, Co-Head of Fixed Income at Schroders said: “We are delighted to welcome James to our team. James has extensive investment experience and will further strengthen our investment proposition with his background of independent analysis and idea generation. James’ significant experience in the macro space will allow us to continue to grow this successful part of our business further.”
The Global Multi-Sector team is made up of six fund managers supported by eight fixed income analysts and strategist located across the globe.
Foto: byrev / Pixabay. Las ventas netas de fondos de inversión en 2015 fueron de casi 2 billones de euros
De acuerdo con la Asociación Europea de Fondos y Gestión de Activos (Efama, por sus sigas en inglés), que incluye los resultados globales de la industria de fondos de inversión para el cuarto trimestre de 2015 y todo el año, los activos invertidos en fondos de inversión en todo el mundo aumentaron un 5,9% durante el cuarto trimestre del 2015 y un 12% anual, llegando a 36,94 billones de euros a finales de 2015. Con lo que, en términos de dólares estadounidenses, los activos de fondos de inversión en todo el mundo ascendieron a 40,2 billones de dólares.
Durante el cuarto trimestre, los fondos a largo plazo (que excluyen a los fondos del mercado monetario) registraron flujos positivos de 364.000 millones de euros, impulsados por los fondos de renta variable con entradas netas de 174.000 millones de euros, fasí como los 32.000 y 120.000 de los fondos de bonos y fondos mixtos. Por su parte, los fondos del mercado monetario registraron entradas netas de 215.000 millones de euros en el cuarto trimestre. En general, durante 2015, los fondos de inversión de todo el mundo consiguieron sumar suscripciones de 1,97 billones de euros, frente a los 1,53 billones de euros de 2014.
A finales de 2015, los activos de los fondos de renta variable representaban el 40% de todos los activos de los fondos de inversión en el mundo, mientras que los fondos de bonos suponían el 20%, los del mercado monetario el 13% y la proporción de activos de los fondos balanceados/mixtos fue del 18%.
Los diez mayores países o regiones en el mercado mundial de fondos son Estados Unidos (48,4%), Europa (33,2%), Australia (3,8%), Japón (3,3%), China (3,1%), Canadá (2,9 %), Brasil (2,8%), Corea del Sur (0,9%), India (0,4%) y Sudáfrica (0,4%) .
Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordilloare the executive team behind ReSolve Asset Management and the authors of the new book, Adaptive Asset Allocation: Dynamic Global Portfolios to Profit in Good Timesand Bad.
In their new book, Butler, Philbrick and Rodrigo, argue that picking stocks can only get you so far…true portfolio diversification cannot be achieved by picking a set of securities within a single asset class.
Given the current difficult market conditions, the traditional means of portfolio management simply won’t help investors achieve their financial objective. Static stock and bond portfolios, strategic asset allocation, and buy-and-hold might work during certain market regimes, but if they didn’t get the job done over the last 15 years. ReSolve Asset management is expecting 20 more years of the same, investors have to make some real changes.
Adaptive Asset Allocation presents a framework that addresses these major challenges, emphasizing the importance of an agile, globally-diversified portfolio:
Scrutinizes the relationship between portfolio volatility and retirement income.
Details the historic divergence between economic reality and investor behavior.
Demonstrates a model for predicting long-term returns on the basis of current valuations.
Examines the difference between Strategic Asset Allocation, Tactical Asset Allocation, and Dynamic Asset Allocation.
Adopts an investment framework for stability, growth, and maximum income.
An optimized portfolio must be structured in a way that allows a quick response to changes in asset class risks and relationships, and the flexibility to continually adapt to market changes. To execute such an ambitious strategy, it is essential to have a strong grasp of foundational wealth management concepts, a reliable system of forecasting, and a clear understanding of the merits of individual investment methods.
“The portfolio management industry is undergoing a revolution analogous to the shift that occurred after Markowitz introduced his modern portfolio theory in 1967. Managers who embrace the new methods will increasingly dominate traditional managers, and those who fail to adapt will, inevitably, face extinction,” assert the authors.
Nigel Green. El escándalo de los #panamapapers no representa a la industria offshore
Según el Consorcio Internacional de Periodistas de Investigación (ICIJ), que llevó a cabo la investigación de más de 11 millones de archivos filtrados, conocidos como los papeles de Panamá «la investigación expone un elenco de personajes que utilizan las compañías offshore para facilitar el soborno, el tráfico de armas, la evasión de impuestos, fraude financiero y drogas trata de personas». Sin embargo, las alegaciones formuladas en el caso de los Papeles Panamá no son representativos de la industria internacional de servicios financieros, afirma el jefe de una de las mayores organizaciones de asesoramiento financiero independiente del mundo.
Según Nigel Green, fundador y director ejecutivo de deVere Grup, los documentos filtrados de la firma panameña, Mossack Fonseca sugieren una evasión de impuestos a gran escala, pero, en su opinión, estas alegaciones no son representativas de la industria financiera internacional de hoy en día. «La inmensa mayoría del sector offshore sólo proporciona servicios que son totalmente legales y utilizados por clientes que cumplen la ley, y que, simplemente, están buscando mejores rendimientos, más opciones de inversión y una mayor flexibilidad.»
Green considera que la idea de un «paraíso fiscal», en el sentido tradicional de la expresión, es ahora un poco anticuada. «En el mundo actual, en el que la información financiera se intercambia de forma automática con las autoridades fiscales a nivel mundial, es casi imposible ocultar el dinero. Ya no se puede esconder activos en islas ‘tesoro’ y no esperar a ser atrapado.» Green menciona que, en su experiencia trabajando con expatriados e inversores internacionales, que tienen estilos de vida generalmente más transitorios, «estos prefieren las cuentas en el extranjero simplemente por comodidad, y es que estas ofrecen una forma centralizada, segura, flexible y de fácil acceso internacional a sus fondos sin importar dónde vivan. Además, ofrecen una amplia variedad de soluciones de inversión».
Entre los beneficios de los centros financieros offshore, Green resalta que estos permiten que las personas que califican para ello, utilicen más productos de inversión para formar una estrategia de planificación financiera robusta y sensible. Además de que permiten a las empresas evitar ser gravados dos veces por el mismo ingreso y que ofrecen refugio financiero legítimo para aquellos en los países donde hay inestabilidad económica y política.
Green afirma que el escándalo actual es una oportunidad «para mejorar aún más la eficacia y la credibilidad de estos centros financieros internacionales y el sector. Esto es especialmente importante ya que la industria se espera que crezca de manera exponencial en los próximos años ya que los individuos y las empresas se vuelven cada vez más globalizados».
Mercer Advisors and Kanaly Trust last week announced that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge. Upon the merger completion, the combined company will manage assets exceeding $8 billion making it one of the largest independent wealth managers in the United States. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
The combined company will be led by David H. Barton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors. Mercer Advisors was acquired by Genstar Capital, a private equity firm, last year. Kanaly Trust is owned by Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that invests in the financial and related business services sectors, which will retain a stake in the combined company.
Mercer Advisors is a total wealth management firm that provides fee-only comprehensive investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate planning, and tax management services. Based in Santa Barbara, Mercer has over $6 billion in assets under management and more than 5,000 clients.
Kanaly Trust provides comprehensive wealth management and financial planning and trust/estate services to families, individuals, and estates. The Houston-based company manages and advises on assets totaling over $2 billion on behalf of more than 500 families, and serves as the trustee or executor for estates totaling more than $2.5 billion.
«This transaction brings together two great companies and creates a strong partnership of people who have the benefit of a stronger platform from which to offer expanded services with the personal and customized service clients demand,» said Barton. «Genstar has been instrumental in helping us rapidly grow our company, and we are well-positioned to build on our momentum. Paramount in Kanaly Trust’s decision to join Mercer Advisors was our shared commitment to the highest level of service, which makes this combination such a great fit.»
«The merger with Kanaly Trust is a significant step forward towards scaling a national wealth management firm to a broader base of sophisticated clients,» said Anthony J. Salewski, a Managing Director at Genstar. «This transaction combines the complementary resources of two important players, and we are excited about this transformative partnership. We are pleased with Mercer Advisors’ progress, led by Dave, and we plan to continue to invest in and support the company as it continues to build its presence in the wealth management sector.»
«This merger brings together two world-class wealth management firms, which will allow us to expand client resources beyond the high-levels we have today,» noted Drew Kanaly, Chairman of Kanaly Trust. «Our extensive experience working with high-net-worth entrepreneurs and executives, and family offices is highly complementary to Mercer Advisors, and this partnership will allow us to provide those services on a national level.»
«The talented Kanaly Trust team remains focused on providing high touch, highly personalized financial advice and customized solutions, which we believe will continue to be in high demand among clients,» said James E. Minnick, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners. «We look forward to our continued involvement and support in working with Mercer and Kanaly in growing the combined company.»
The merger is subject to customary regulatory approval.
Investors domiciled in Europe and Asia are shifting their attention in regards to sector allocation says trendscout, a service offered by fundinfo that measures fund interest based on online views of their 16+ million fund documents database.
According the their latest insight, Technology and HealthCare had attracted a lot of interest for quite some time, but the tide has recently turned. HealthCare has been losing steam since last fall, and Technology has corrected from its year-end rally. Investor’s focus is now shifting towards depressed cyclical sectors like Gold Mining and even towards Physical Gold ETFs:
Other trendscout highlights include that amongst the categories losing attention are Equity Europe, Equity Japan and Fixed Income Relative Value, while Equity World, Flexible Allocation and Equity Gold Mining are gaining attention with the iShares Core and Comstage driving interest for Equity World.
Other funds gaining attention according to trendscout are:
Foto: Mike Beales
. Julius Baer aumenta su participación en Kairos en un 60,1%, hasta alcanzar el 80%
Julius Baer anunció ayer que el cierre de la operación por la que aumenta su participación en Kairos Investment Management en un 60,1%, desembolsando un total de 314,51 millones de dólares, se produjo el pasado 1 de abril. La participación del banco suizo en el Grupo Kairos pasa, así, a ser del 80%.
El anuncio de la ampliación de su participación en Kairos se produjo en noviembre de 2015, después de que el banco suizo se hubiera hecho con un 19,9% inicial de la entidad milanesa en 2013, tras lo cual recibió las autorizaciones pertinentes.
No habrá cambios en la dirección ejecutiva de Kairos y la operación reforzará significativamente su posicionamiento a largo plazo en Italia y alimentará los ambiciosos planes de crecimiento de Kairos y Julius Baer.
Kairos nació en 1999 y en la actualidad emplea a más de 150 profesionales, está especializada en wealth y asset management, incluidas las mejores soluciones de inversión independientes de cada clase, y asesoramiento. A 31 de diciembre de 2015, los activos bajo gestión eran de 9.100 millones de dólares, frente a los aproximadamente 4.560 con que ambas firmas arrancaron su acuerdo estratégico en 2013.
