December 2017
The Future is Ready to be Made
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC
Providing a Competitive Edge at the Front-Line of Business
Zebra Technologies
AI for Web Security
Infinite Expertise Infinox Capital is a global brokerage, headquartered in London and providing a range of services to its valued clients. We spoke to Jay Mawji to learn more about the firm and how it works to provide the very highest standards of support and service.
Cyberlytic
Keeping Success in the Family
Barfoot & Thompson
A Desert Island Focus on U.S. Small Companies
Granahan Investment Management, Inc.
Putting Clients At the Heart of Wealth Management Capitalium Advisors SA
Reimagine Your Investments Š Breakform Realty Ventures
A Highly Rated Accountancy Firm Pribramsky & Company, CPAs
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Editor’s Comment Welcome to the December edition of Wealth & Finance Magazine, bringing you with an insight into the latest industry news across both traditional and alternative investment sectors.
6
In recent news, on the 14th December, Funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Sun Country Airlines, the largest privately-held fully independent airline in the United States, from brothers Marty and Mitch Davis. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, is targeted to close during the first quarter of 2018. In this month’s issue, we learn more about the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time enterprise visibility, Zebra Technologies. The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Olivier Leonetti provides insights into what Zebra delivers and what it takes to be successful in the technology industry.
10
Keeping on the topic of success stories, Nexus Forensic Services who have been in business since 2006, play a leading role in the forensics industry through its involvement and membership in selfregulatory bodies. One of the Directors of Nexus, Mary-Anne Whittles provides us with an overview of the company’s services and future aspirations. Also in this month’s edition, we profile full service on-site health, fitness and wellbeing management company, Aquila as we look to explore the secrets behind its ongoing success. Finally, Infinox Capital is a global brokerage, headquartered in London and provides a range of services to its valued clients. Recently, we spoke to Jay Mawji to discover more about the firm and how it works to provide the very highest standards of support and service. Here at Wealth & Finance, we hope you enjoy reading this thrilling edition and look forward to hearing from you. Jessica Daykin, Editor
AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.
2 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
42
40
READ THIS MONTH’S CPD ACCREDITED ISSUE TO GAIN 6 CPD POINTS
Seven Squared
4. News 6. 8.
Real People. Real Health. Aquila A Highly Rated Accountancy Firm Pribramsky & Company, CPAs
10. The Future is Ready to be Made Aberdeen Asset Management PLC 14. Providing a Competitive Edge at the Front-Line of Business Zebra Technologies Corporation 18. Premier Provider of Managed Services and Technology Solutions Eze Castle Integration 20. AI for Web Security Cyberlytic 22. Keeping Success in the Family Barfoot & Thompson
26. A Desert Island Focus on U.S. Small Companies Granahan Investment Management, Inc. 28. Built on Experience Coupland Cardiff Asset Management 30. Putting Clients At the Heart of Wealth Management Capitalium Advisors SA 32. It is all About Performance Herculis Partners SA 34. Infinite Expertise Infinox Capital Limited 36. Economic Crime Fighters Nexus Forensic Services (Pty) Ltd 38. Seven Squared Square Asset Management 40. Success is Carved in Stone for Runestone Capital Runestone Capital 42. Reimagine Your Investments © Breakform Realty Ventures
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 3
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
BitGo Raises $42.5M Series B to Continue Growth of Custodial Ecosystem for Bitcoin and Beyond
4 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
News
BitGo Technology powers $8b in transactions per month as institutional sector embraces digital currency.
On the 11th December, BitGo announced the close of its $42.5 million Series B financing, d by Valor Equity Partners with participation from David Sacks, Bill Lee, and DRW. The funding will be used to accelerate the momentum of its technology among institutional investors. The company, which already powers $8 billion in digital transactions per month, has become an indispensable financial services partner to institutions worldwide. A growing customer base, including CME Group and The Royal Mint, leverage BitGo’s technology to add digital currencies to their global product mix. “We’ve crossed the tipping point for Bitcoin and other digital currencies, which have transitioned from experiments to front page news. BitGo gives institutions and custodians a solid technology base to offer new digital investment opportunities, products and services,” said Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo. “We have been the go-to service for exchanges, hedge-funds, trusts, and businesses for years, now we are expanding our secure and compliant technology to build out an advanced financial ecosystem for investors to work with to make buying, storing, and trading digital assets as easy as possible.” “BitGo is changing the way that digital currency is secured. Institutions can now confidently trust in the security of their digital assets thanks to BitGo, as can their custodial partners,” said Antonio Gracias, Founder and Chief Investment at Valor Equity Partners. “We’re thrilled to be a part of a company that is changing the way that financial services organizations view digital currency.”
AirBnB, Facebook, SpaceX and Tesla. Antonio Gracias, Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Valor Equity Partners and board member at Tesla and SpaceX will join BitGo’s board of directors. David Sacks, Founder/CEO of Yammer and original COO and product leader of PayPal, also joins the board. “BitGo has a long history of working with large institutions that need the highest-grade security, compliance, cold storage, multi-key management, and more,” said Bill Lee, Chairman of the Board at BitGo. “We are thrilled to bring on top notch executives and the expertise of investment legends like Don Wilson at DRW to aggressively expand on BitGo’s leading position with institutional investors.” BitGo’s technology is a catalyst that allows custodial institutions to extend new offerings to Wall Street and Main Street, and the company has already realized success with several custodial partners. One example is Kingdom Trust, a custodian who services US clients and holds custody of over $12 billion in assets. As a federally approved custodian according to IRS Code Title 26 Sec. 408, Kingdom Trust can offer Bitcoin IRA and allow retirement investors to build positions in cryptocurrencies just as they do in alternative assets like real estate or precious metals.
“Being custodian for the assets of clients of registered investment advisors, broker-dealers and investment sponsors comes with great responsibility in an ever-changing regulatory environment,” said Matt Jennings, CEO at Kingdom Trust. “BitGo allows us to bring digital currency - a go-to investment for many investors - alongIndividuals and funds participating side stocks, bonds and mutual funds in BitGo’s Series B have invested in in our retirement offerings with the every stage of companies that funda- same security and trust that we exmentally changed industries, including pect from institutional-grade partners.”
Full of Potential Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC acquires six operating solar facilities, comprising 10 megawatts of generating capacity, in California and Colorado.
On the 12th December, Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC announced that, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, it signed an agreement on the 6th December 2017 to purchase a portfolio of North American solar assets from UK based, Foresight Group (“Foresight Portfolio”) for approximately $13,000,000, including the repayment of $5 million in project level debt. The Foresight Portfolio consists of six operating solar photovoltaic systems comprising 10.0 MW located in Colorado (consisting of the Grand Junction – Mesa, Sterling 2 MW and Sterling 500 kW facilities) and California (consisting of Lancaster - Radiance 4 and Radiance 5, and Jamestown – Sonora. The Foresight Portfolio was represented by Cohn Reznick Capital Markets Securities LLC, an investment banking advisor, on behalf of the current owner Foresight Group US, LLC, a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager with over $3 billion in asset under management. The projects were placed in service throughout 2013 and 2014 and sell
power or renewable energy credits to PG&E, Xcel, SCE and/or various Colorado based governmental agencies through 20-year power purchase agreements with an average of 17 years currently remaining across all locations. “With the Foresight Portfolio, we have added six commercial solar assets with investment-grade utility and governmental agency off-takers, further diversifying the Company’s portfolio,” said Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker. “Market conditions in the renewable energy market continue to be robust and we are pleased to be able to execute on great transactions while simultaneously expanding our pipeline of potential alternative energy deals which meet the Company’s investment criteria.” With the addition of these solar assets, the Company now owns approximately 168.9 MW of generating capacity comprising 45.5 MW of Wind facilities and 123.4 MW of commercial and residential solar facilities.
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 5
1712WF01
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Real People. Real Health.
Company: Aquila Address: 1212 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1060, Miami, Florida, 33131, USA Phone: 001 800 806 8482 Website: www.aquilaltd.com
Aquila is an exciting full service on-site health, fitness and wellbeing management company. We profile the firm as we look to explore the secrets behind its ongoing success.
Aquila provides fitness facility and program management for corporations, real estate properties, government agencies and private properties. Looking at the firm’s overall mission, the firm aims to provide its customers with upto-date management services so that it can offer five start fitness and wellbeing services in their properties. Providing a thorough service, the company use detailed and structured internal systems in order to provide the best results for its clients. These systems can include quality monitoring and improvement processes, as well as benchmarking, re-engineering and employee engagements as well as additional services. Working within such a fast-paced industry, the team at Aquila ensures that all staff are alert and able to keep up with emerging developments within the industry. Keeping ahead of any possible advances, contributes to the success of any firm and Aquila remains on top of the industry by using its experience, in services such as data. The team also set targets, fine tune the practices they employ, and examine their process, looking for new ways to be innovative and keep the client interested. Aquila always meets and aims to exceed the client’s requirements by working as a partner, not just a solution provider. The team were very honoured to be part of the 2017 Consulting Top 100, and are thankful for being recognized as a leader in the industry. This success has come about thanks to the company being able to differentiate itself from its competitors, which as a result, guarantees that clients will know that the company are the best option. The team concentrate on added value, trust, convenience, corporate consciousness, and providing value for money. Unrivalled in many aspects of its success, Aquila’s culture is one of development and the team believes in empowering its people. Employees at the company grow in stature and experience, and feel empowered to contribute in more meaningful ways, before they move on to positions with greater responsibility, subsequently enhancing their careers. Within the company there is a culture
6 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
which is one of openness and communication. Therefore, as a result, ideas flow freely between staff members, with teams contributing significantly to furthering the company’s goals. With the health and wellbeing industry being such a competitive industry, there are always challenges which present themselves to different firms. Engaging with people and attempting to make lasting behaviour changes in their health and fitness behaviours is a constant challenge, and one that the team are always working hard to overcome. As the industry evolves, so will Aquila, and there will be a greater engagement of technology solutions in the market, which, coupled with human performance and excellence will benefit both Aquila and the relevant sector. The recovery and therapy of existing health and physical ailments will bolster the company, which will further expand the continuum of the service that Aquila is able to offer on-site.
“The team were very honoured to be part of the 2017 Consulting Top 100, and are thankful for being recognized as a leader in the industry.” Going forwards, Aquila gained 25.10% increase in revenue for 2016 and is on continued growth path in 2017 and 2018. Aquila continues the growth path from 2015 when the Company was selected among INC 5000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. with a 3-year growth rate of 68%. This brings the overall 4-year growth rate to 93.10%. Overall, the wider state of health industry and importance of health and wellbeing provides Aquila’s segment great growth opportunities in all areas of its services.
Real People. Real Health.
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 7
1712WF10
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
A Highly Rated Accountancy Firm Pribramsky & Company, CPAs is a public accounting firm with its services tailored to meet its client’s specific goals and objectives. We invited Steven Pribramsky to inform us about the firm’s services and more about its success in our Wealth & Finance Magazine. Founded in 2000, Pribramsky & Company, CPAs has grown into one of South Florida’s leading CPA firms with its cloud based operating platform which allows both staff and clients to work in a virtual office environment 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Today’s business environment is changing faster than ever. Old business models are making way for new, innovative and more efficient ways of doing business. The same is true of the accounting profession. Seeing the future of accounting technology changing as far back as 2008, Steven Pribramsky first moved his firm to a cloud based accounting system. Having taken the risk and making the financial investment in cloud based technology has allowed Pribramsky & Company, CPAs to be a leader in client service by making client’s lives easier and more productive when it comes to their accounting, tax and auditing needs. From tax return and financial statement preparation, to auditing and forensics accounting services, Pribramsky & Company is dedicated to the pursuit of fulfilling its client’s financial dreams. The team can help initiate a new business venture, or structure the sale of an existing concern. Its comprehensive business consulting services can coordinate every aspect of the financial world. Starting off, Steven tells us how it feels to have been selected in the Global Excellence Awards of 2017 as the Most Outstanding Accountancy Firm in Florida, before telling us what he feels it means for the firm. “Firstly, we are greatly honoured to win this highly prestigious award. Our firm has consistently won awards and honours for the expertise and service we have delivered to our client’s year after year. Winning this award is the affirmation and recognition for all the hard work that our staff puts into each and every client we work with.” “Secondly, the award means a great deal to myself and my firm. Having built this firm one client at a time for almost 20 years, an award like this is recognition for all the hard work that I and my staff have put in to make sure very client’s needs are met
8 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
and that we have a productive and fun workplace.” Alluding to the success of the company, Steven goes into more details about what separates Pribramsky & Company from its competitors. As well as mentioning the expected great customer service that clients receive when they work with the firm, Steven talks about how the company goes the extra mile for its customers, highlighting its return business as a sign of its success. “It is a cliché to say great customer service helps us to stand out in the industry, but that is truly the hallmark of our firm. Any firm can fill out tax forms or complete and audit of financial statements, but what sets our firm apart is the customer service we strive to provide to each and every client - no matter how big their company is or how much income they earn. Our goal is to make each client feel like they are the most important client we have in our firm. It is our follow up and follow through that matters. Calling clients back and answering emails right away, certainly before day’s end is what keep our clients coming back year after year and what earns us referral after referral.” Discussing the internal culture within the respected firm, Steven describes the working environment between staff, and how the team ensures that all staff are equipped to provide the best possible service that Pribramsky & Company is famed for. “Internally, our culture is one that empowers our staff while providing them the support and training they need to succeed. We have very high expectations as to the client service they must provide and our managers inspect what we expect, as they say, but our management style and our culture is one to support our staff and make it a fun and profitable place to work.” Ultimately, regarding the future of the firm, there is a lot to look forward to for Pribramsky & Company, CPAs. It is clear that the firm will continue to be a leader in the industry and in the community. There is a lot of positivity buzzing through the firm, and there is a lot to look forward to for the company and its clients.
Company: Pribramsky & Company, CPAs Contact: Steven Pribramsky Email: steven@pribramskycpa.com Address: 937 Fleming Street, Key West, Florida, 33040, USA Phone: 001 (305) 294-8137 Website: www.pribramskycpa.com
A Highly Rated Accountancy Firm
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 9
1712WF14
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
The Future is Ready to be Made
Company: Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Contact: Russell Barlow Email: claudia.svendsen@ aberdeenstandard.com Address: Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London, EC4M 9HH, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7463 6000 Website: www.aberdeenstandard.com
Aberdeen Asset Management is a global asset management company focused on meeting the worldwide investment needs of institutions, private investors and the advisers who serve them. We did a Q&A with Russell Barlow to find out more about the successful company.
Please tell me about your firm, the work you do and the types of clients with whom you work. Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1991, we are one of Europe’s largest public, pure-play investment managers. To be world class, we aim for excellence in everything we do. Whether it is looking after our clients’ investments, offering our employees a rewarding career path, or helping ensure we are operating sustainably and for the long-term good of our planet. It is a commitment that has helped us become a trusted partner to individual and institutional investors around the world. As Global Head of Alternative Investment Strategies, what do you and your team do for your investors? My team helps our investor build more robust and diversified portfolios by providing research, access, implementation and ongoing management of portfolios of alternative investments. We began this kind of investing back in the 1990s with a fund of hedge funds approach, and have evolved over the years to provide a much wider range of solutions for all investors. These range from customised portfolios for institutional investors, UCITS and ’40 Act regulated or ‘liquid alternatives’ funds, low-cost risk premia strategies, focused single-strategy solutions, managed accounts, and of course, funds of hedge funds. These solutions can be focussed on return-seeking approaches, aim to provide strong diversification benefits, or protect portfolios during times of extreme market stress. So, what is your investment philosophy when it comes to hedge funds and related alternative strategies and styles? Markets are inefficient, dynamic and, in some cases, only just emerging – and so there are numerous investment opportunities that traditional long-only investments cannot access. These alternative strategies can provide returns that are not dependent on the equity risk premium, or on
10 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
interest rates, and so can offer diversification and more ways to generate growth. These opportunities are often hard to find or hard to access. To capture them effectively, fund managers need specialist skill sets, specific resources and/or proprietary systems. The managers providing access to these opportunities have historically been defined as “hedge funds”, although they are not a homogenous group. As such, hedge fund strategies should be divided up in different ways in order to make their analysis more meaningful. Essentially, each fund or strategy should deliver alpha relative to traditional long-only markets, leading to better risk-adjusted returns. This should be a result of manager skill and/or arbitrage exploitation.
To be world class, we aim for excellence in everything we do. Whether it is looking after our clients’ investments, offering our employees a rewarding career path, or helping ensure we are operating sustainably and for the long-term good of our planet. Those of us that went through 2008 and see where markets are trading today think a lot about ‘times of extreme market stress’ that you mentioned earlier – what do you see investors doing about that today? Financial markets have rallied a long way and, as history has shown, a bull market tends to be followed by a correction. The question we are asking is how hard would an investor be hit on the way down. There’s plenty to suggest that a correction may be overdue whether the driver is concerns over Brexit, President Trump or the soaring levels of the S&P index.
The Future is Ready to be Made
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 11
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Investors are, unsurprisingly then, looking for investment strategies to protect themselves from market shocks, often labelled as Crisis Risk Offset (CRO), Crisis Protection, Tail Risk Protection or something similar. Such approaches attracted $6.6 billion of investor inflows in 2016 according to HFRI, the hedge fund data provider. The strategies blend a range of asset classes and strategies expected to outperform when markets fall. Most try to capture some form of trending market behaviour (positive or negative) across different markets. A typical institutional allocation is in the region of 10% of the overall portfolio. Sounds interesting - what kinds of asset classes would they invest in, and why? Some approaches allocate to long duration US Treasury bonds as the “flight to quality” means that Treasuries appreciate significantly in the initial phases of a crisis. An allocation to trend following systematic global macro gives access to momentum-based strategies that are expected to perform well when a crisis is confirmed. Alternative risk premia strategies systematically aim to capture the long-term returns of certain well-known risk premia, for example, value, size and quality. And other strategies are long options on volatility, benefitting when markets sell off and volatility rises. This return-offset feature is the primary purpose. If it fulfils this objective, the return pattern of the investor’s overall portfolio will benefit from reduced losses during periods of traditional asset market declines. The strategies have several benefits. By hedging market falls through shorting, they provide valuable diversification. The level of protection provided is relatively cheap. Funds can be withdrawn in a matter of days as the underlying investments (equities and derivatives) are implemented in deep and liquid markets. And importantly, these strategies can provide a source of capital when markets fall that can be deployed if attractive investment opportunities appear. What kind of investors are already allocating, who are the early adopters? Many of the investors considering CRO products are pension funds and insurance companies which cannot afford to incur heavy losses given their contractual liabilities. As there are scenarios that will (with realistic probabilities) take some schemes beyond an acceptable drawdown level, it’s not surprising that institutional flows into these diversifying investments have increased. So, do you think more investors should be including these strategies in their portfolios? Some caution would be advised – investors commonly aim to predict the impact of the next crisis by using models that have worked on historical data. But the future is rarely a mirror image of the past. Anyone who has witnessed the aftermath of the dotcom bubble or the global financial crisis will attest to that. The strategies that will work best are probably those that recognise that history rhymes, not repeats. Furthermore, some trend-following approaches have been criticised as unsophisticated, being
12 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
based on simple rules and ignoring the complexity of evolving financial markets. For example, a strategy that naively buys in a rising market may overlook the fact that the market is overpriced. This is not an argument against the strategies as such, but investors should be clear whether the strategy they choose is likely to perform as intended. It seems a very institutional solution, what can smaller investors do if they want to try to build these kinds of exposures into their portfolios? We currently work with several large institutional investors to implement protection strategies via segregated accounts, or as part of a broader, but customised, alternatives allocation. For smaller investors, the options are currently more limited. Through our experience of investing into alternative risk premia strategies, however, we are looking into creating a pooled crisis protection solution that would be a low-cost, liquid, accessible solution for investors across the size spectrum. How would that work? Using our expertise of building portfolios of specific risk premia via investment bank indices, we have designed a portfolio framework using a high-level combination of Trend, Defensive and Volatilitylinked strategies. These utilise alternative risk premia across asset classes such as equities, currencies, commodities and rates focussed on areas like quality, low beta, carry and volatility. The principle aim is to deliver very strong returns in periods when traditional asset classes are under extreme stress and in large drawdowns, but to maintain the value of the capital in the interim, more benign, periods.
We are incredibly excited to be selected in this year’s awards, and I am particularly pleased to see the hard work of the team being recognised. We will certainly be looking out for the details when that fund launches! In the meantime, your Alternative Strategies Fund is selected in the 2017 UCITS Fund of the Year Awards – how do you feel about that? We are incredibly excited to be selected in this year’s awards, and I am particularly pleased to see the hard work of the team being recognised. Launching a fund isn’t easy and Vicky Hudson, the lead PM on this fund has done a great job of bringing this portfolio together in an innovative managed account framework, which has given access to some best-in-class hedge fund talent through a UCITS vehicle that is simply not available elsewhere. As is often the case, there have been some challenging performance periods, but the dedication of the team and the skill of the underlying managers has come through and 2017 has been a successful year for the fund, hence the recognition we have seen!
The Future is Ready to be Made
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 13
1712WF02
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Providing a Competitive Edge at the Front-Line of Business
Company: Zebra Technologies Corporation Contact: Therese Van Ryne, Global PR Director Email: therese.vanryne@zebra.com Website: www.zebra.com
As the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time enterprise visibility, Zebra Technologies is pleased to be awarded as the Most Innovative Solution Provider of the Year 2017. Zebra Chief Financial Officer, Olivier Leonetti provides insights into what Zebra delivers and what it takes to be successful in the technology industry
With the unparalleled operational visibility Zebra provides, enterprises become as smart and connected as the world people live in today. Realtime information, gleaned from visionary solutions including hardware, software and services, give organisations the competitive edge they need to simplify operations, know more about their businesses and customers and empower their mobile workers to succeed in today’s data-centric world. Operational efficiency, agility and the ability to make real-time, data-driven decisions are critical to success in today’s multi-touchpoint, multichannel, always-on, hypercompetitive markets. The only way businesses can continue to grow is to be ready to leverage the disruptive forces at play. How? It is one thing to undertake projects with a fixed goal and end date in mind. But how does innovation happen on an ongoing basis? Aiming to innovate in the best way possible, companies need to take full advantage of the convergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud and mobility to use these technologies as catalysts to deliver real-time visibility into their operations. They can adopt a more flexible business model leveraging rapid, iterative improvement to workflow processes, known as dynamic workflow. This comes from recognising that there is no final endstate, but rather a series of ongoing improvements
14 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
in their operations. By emphasising smaller, more agile advances, enterprises can take advantage of their current market position while making smart, but aggressive, investments in their future. Essentially, in the world today, everyone is connected and technology now underpins every business transaction. As a result, business leaders in all sectors can tap into massive data sets and unlock untold insights. Already many manufacturing operations are running more efficiently than ever before thanks to the installation of smart machinery and sensors on
Aiming to innovate in the best way possible, companies need to take full advantage of the convergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud and mobility to use these technologies as catalysts to deliver real-time visibility into their operations. connected factory floors. Healthcare providers now leverage patient identification solutions to tie lab results to patients and track the administration of medication. Also, retailers are using in-store Wi-Fi to trace their customers’ movements and capture dwell times.
Providing a Competitive Edge at the Front-Line of Business
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 15
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
The Right Technology Overcomes Obstacles IoT projects can require the modification, re-design or purchase of new networks, cloud services and equipment. They also require new applications and platforms to support different types of devices. As a result, simply connecting smart devices into a usable network can seem like an insurmountable challenge. But with the right portfolio of technology, these obstacles can be easily overcome. When building an IoT organisation, it is critical that the system supports both legacy and new smart devices. Furthermore, it should provide support for multiple connectivity options (i.e., wired, wireless, etc.). IoT solutions should also have centralised and remote device management to allow for day-to-day provisioning, device setup and maintenance. To support application connectivity, the system should offer consistent application programming interfaces across a wide range of devices, while at the same time affording easy scalability and connectivity to the data centre. Enterprises need to know what is happening in real time in order to improve their workflows and operations on an ongoing basis. Capturing data on people, processes and things is the first part of this process. Part two is having the analytic horsepower to make sense of it all. Only then can they shift from static views of isolated activities to a dynamic understanding of the entire enterprise and its customers. By instilling a culture of iterative enhancements, enterprises can continuously simplify and streamline their operations while making significant enhancements to their customer engagement models. As the number of connected devices continues to rise, so too does the amount of data enterprises must analyse. Not only are the velocity and volume of data ballooning, but data is also diverse and often sitting in disjointed silos. Subsequently, it is a challenge to aggregate and process with standard database management systems. Advanced Big Data solutions are needed to gain actionable intelligence on assets, people and transactions. This data then needs to be combined with business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and other applications to enrich the data collected and, ultimately, yield insights as well as predict outcomes and actions.
Olivier Leonetti
By leveraging the IoT and utilising advanced analytics to extract insight from the raw data that is generated from these various devices, enterprises can gain visibility into their business operations as well as the services they deliver to their customers. This results in enterprises possessing the power to make better, data-driven decisions that can impact their business today and tomorrow. However, the true potential of this information cannot be fully realized until they equip their workforce with the devices to act upon it. Mobile Devices Benefit Front-Line Workers Enterprise mobility can be a game changer not just for office-based knowledge workers on the go, but for frontline workers on the factory floor, in retail settings, in the medical field and more. By giving their employees access to relevant data and content at the point of need, they can be more productive, offer better customer service and hone their skills. For example, a retail worker can cross-sell products by accessing information on a customer’s buying history and preferences on the sales floor, while a factory worker can receive training on a new piece of equipment by scanning a code and watching a tutorial. The introduction of mobile devices in the workforce, however, is not without challenges. As smartphones and tablets become workplace staples, hackers are using every avenue available to break into them. And as more diverse company-owned and employee-owned devices are leveraged, it is getting harder to provision services and manage use across varying platforms and operating systems. Through unrivalled expertise in sensors and device connectivity, Zebra helps enterprises connect assets and devices to software and to their mobile workers, enabling them to know much more than they ever have about what’s going on in your enterprise. Easy access to an unprecedented amount of data allows enterprises to plan effective short- and longterm strategies. Zebra helps to deliver real-time insights into the critical data being captured by sensors and their connected devices. The Intelligent Enterprise Index On Nov. 1, 2017, Zebra revealed the results of its inaugural “Intelligent Enterprise Index.” This global survey analyses where companies are on the journey to becoming an Intelligent Enterprise; how they are connecting the physical and digital worlds to improve visibility, efficiencies and growth. Forty-eight percent are on the path to becoming intelligent enterprises, scoring between 50-75 points on the overall index. Only five percent exceeded 75 points on the index. The Intelligent Enterprise Index measures to what extent companies today are meeting the criteria that define today’s Intelligent Enterprise. Some of the criteria include IoT vision and adoption plan as well as business engagement in developing a return on investment for IoT. The criteria were identified by leading executives, industry experts and policymakers across different industries at the 2016 Strategic Innovation Symposium: The Intelligent Enterprise, which was hosted by
16 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
Zebra in collaboration with the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH) last year. The framework of an “Intelligent Enterprise” is based on technology solutions that integrate cloud computing, mobility, and IoT to automatically sense information from enterprise assets. Operational data from these assets, including status, location, utilisation, or preferences, is then analysed to provide actionable insights, which can then be mobilised to the right person at the right time so they can be acted upon to drive better, more-timely decisions by users anywhere, at any time. Here are some of the key survey findings: IoT vision is strong and investment set to increase. Forty-two percent of companies spend more than $1 million toward IoT annually, with an average of $3.1 million per year, and 75 percent expect that number to increase in the next one to two years. In fact, 42 percent of companies expect their IoT investment to increase by 11-20 percent. Notably, 57 percent of companies have an IoT vision and are currently executing their IoT plans. Although only 36 percent currently have company-wide deployment, it is expected that 62 percent will have it deployed company-wide in the future. Customer experience is driving IoT. Seventy percent of companies claim the largest driver of IoT investment is improving the customer experience. In the future, increasing revenue (53 percent) and expanding into new markets (51 percent) are expected to be the largest drivers. Companies keep employees informed, but there is room for more. Approximately 70 percent of companies share information from their IoT solutions with their employees more than once a day, of which more than two-thirds share in real or near-real time. However, only 32 percent provide actionable information to all employees, and information is provided either via email (69 percent) or as raw data (62 percent). An “Intelligent Enterprise” is one that leverages ties between the physical and digital worlds to enhance visibility and mobilise actionable insights that create better customer experiences, drive operational efficiencies or enable new business models. This is a journey for enterprise organisations so the team wanted to see where most companies are in the process. Clearly, many are still forming their IoT strategies, but Zebra are seeing segments that have identified targeted use cases and are aggressively deploying solutions. Zebra gives 95 percent of the Fortune 500 realtime visibility into their operations. Our software, services, analytics, and hardware are used to connect their assets, systems and people, giving their entire operation a digital voice. This gives businesses the ability to sense what’s happening in their operations, analyse that data and act on it, making decisions in real time. Ultimately, with the help of Zebra, an enterprise’s large, growing fleet of mobile devices will enable management and workers at all levels to act on visibility-driven insights in real time, anytime and everywhere.
Providing a Competitive Edge at the Front-Line of Business
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 17
1712WF11
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Premier Provider of Managed Services and Technology Solutions
Company: Eze Castle Integration Email: sales@eci.com Address: 260 Franklin Street, 12th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, USA Phone: 1-800-752-1382 Website: www.eci.com
For more than two decades, Eze Castle Integration has been the premier provider of technology solutions to the financial and investment management industry, servicing hedge funds, private equity firms and other financial sector organizations. We profile the firm as it features in the Global Excellence Awards of 2017 as the Hedge Fund Cloud Services Provider of the Year – USA.
Eze Castle Integration’s managed IT, private cloud and hybrid cloud solutions are industry-leading and relied on by more than 600 firms around the world. Eze Castle Integration prides itself on providing the highest client service levels and support to clients 24x7x365. The overall mission of the firm, is to be the global leader in managed services and technology solutions that empower financial firms and exceed customers’ expectations. Strategies around product innovation include expanding the services delivered via the Eze Cloud platform, while enhancing the core infrastructure with new security and data protection layers. For corporate growth, Eze Castle’s strategy remains to provide the services clients need in the regions they require them. This approach has resulted in Eze Castle being a global provider of services to the industry. Finally, for client satisfaction/retention, Eze Castle invests in internal systems, as well as employee training programs to help ensure clients receive rapid response from knowledgeable employees at every touchpoint. Essentially, technology has become one of the most important aspects of the company. It is not just the output of the company, but it is ingrained in the firm’s culture, with clients always receiving outstanding technology solutions wrapped in award-winning service. Technology is not just what the firm does, it is who they are, and the firm keeps its clients at the core of its business. What separates Eze Castle from its competitors, is the multifaceted suite of
18 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
services that the team have built within the Eze Cloud portfolio, coupled with its unparalleled client service and robust thought leadership program. Eze Castle recognizes that its clients require rapid response as they operate in the fast-paced financial markets and have built a global 24x7x365 support organization that is ready to respond.
What separates Eze Castle from its competitors, is the multifaceted suite of services that the team have built within the Eze Cloud portfolio, coupled with its unparalleled client service and robust thought leadership program. In 2017, Eze Castle Integration launched a new service, Eze Hybrid Cloud. The Eze Hybrid Cloud innovation was born of Eze Castle’s years of private cloud experience, deep Microsoft partnership and award-winning service organization with flexibility packaged with security and complete end-to-end monitoring. Looking ahead, Eze Castle believes demand for managed services will continue to grow, and that technology innovation will drive new offerings delivered via hybrid and private cloud platforms.
Premier Provider of Managed Services and Technology Solutions
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 19
1711WF05
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
AI for Web Security Cyberlytic provides advanced yet easy to deploy and maintain cyber security software that detects and prioritises web attacks. We profile the firm and speak to the team at Cyberlytic as we look to find out about the achievements of the firm. Cyberlytic is a cyber security company with offices in London and Belfast. Its founders formed the business using research they conducted for the UK Ministry of Defence and GCHQ. Businesses within the financial services sector and wealth management in particular, benefit from the company’s products because they support regulatory compliance requirements, such as PSD2 and GDPR. IT and security teams welcome the easy install and zero maintenance approach that is made possible by Cyberlytic’s threat detection tool. AI-powered detection and triage provide an advanced layer of intelligence that keeps the hackers out. The team tell us more about the services that the firm offers and its products, as well as the typical clients they deal with in this ever-evolving industry. “Firstly, web attacks, such as SQL injection, are targeting financial services and wealth management businesses due to the valuable data that is stored behind a website or other web application. The recent successful attack against Equifax is an example of the type of attack we’re dealing with, and could have been prevented with better detection and prioritisation tools in place. Our products use artificial intelligence to detect web attacks and immediately differentiate between those that are benign and those that will compromise your data. “Wealth management businesses that have digitised their services are now key targets for hackers operating remotely. Hackers want the personal and financial information held behind website portals to sell to other criminals. Data is the new gold! It is therefore critical that businesses protect themselves through a layered defence. This is magnified with the introduction of GDPR. Transparency and early threat detection is now mandatory with fines for non-compliance becoming a serious risk owned by the Board. Under GDPR, the most serious violations could result in fines of up to €20 million or 4 per cent of turnover (whichever is greater).” Dealing with an assortment of clients, the team tell us why London is the ideal hub for the firm, noting its reputation for tech start-ups and also the innovative companies which are based in the area and work well with the business.
20 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
“London has a very good reputation for tech start-ups looking for investment and wider support. We feel very lucky to have been supported by groups such as CyLon, UCL and Cisco who are helping to accelerate start-ups. Forward thinking financial service companies are impressed with our advanced but low maintenance approach to web application security. They are often excited to work with emerging technologies and see the benefit in ensuring they have the highest levels of security for their customers. “Customer satisfaction is a key aspect of our success. We like to work closely with our clients, providing them with a hands-on approach if they require it. Also, we are always looking at ways we can improve the product, so we try to gather feedback from customers constantly that can feed into the product roadmap.” Outlining Cyberlytic’s mission, the team tell us what steps the company take in order to achieve this. Reducing the workload of others is an obvious and key aim of Cyberlytic, as well as reducing response times for their clients, with everyone reaping the benefits of Cyberlytic’s expert services. “Essentially, Cyberlytic was founded on the belief that applying artificial intelligence within cyber security should enable security teams to be more efficient and reduce the demand on security teams. We create efficiency by using our team’s expertise and understanding of cyber threats, together with data science to utilise unsupervised and semi-supervised machine learning algorithms that correlate the data to a definition of sophistication, capability and effectiveness. We want to reduce the workload of security teams and enable them to focus on the most dangerous attacks; decreasing response times currently measured in months, to seconds.” With the firm’s mission set out, there is a lot of positivity regarding the future of Cyberlytic. “Moving forward, we will continue to work with the UK Ministry of Defence, supporting cyber research and development programmes in the AI space. We always learn from these contracts and commercialise the technology to be available to the businesses we supply.”
Company: Cyberlytic Address: IDEAL, 69 Wilson St., London, EC2A 2BB, UK Phone: +44 (0) 2032900011 Website: www.cyberlytic.com
AI for Web Security
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 21
1712WF20
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Keeping Success in the Family
Company: Barfoot & Thompson Contact: Peter Thompson Address: 34 Shortland Street, Auckland City, Auckland 1010, New Zealand Email: peter@barfoot.co.nz Website: www.barfoot.co.nz
Barfoot & Thompson is New Zealand’s largest privately owned real estate company, and is owned and managed by the same families that founded the company and have run it for close to 100 years. We invited Managing Director, Peter Thompson to share the techniques he employed to win MD of the Year- New Zealand in our prestigious Business Elite 2017.
Established in 1923, Barfoot & Thompson operates in the Auckland and Northland regions of New Zealand, home to about a third of the country’s population, and the firm’s head office is in Auckland, the largest city, and economic centre. Auckland regularly features in the ‘top 10’ of the world’s most liveable cities in surveys conducted by international rating organisations. The firm’s core business is residential housing, and as such Barfoot & Thompson regularly sell 40% of all the residential homes sold in Auckland each year. Although residential sales are the firm’s main focus, it operates across all areas of real estate, including commercial, lifestyle and rural property sales, and in providing property management, body corporate and special project services to investors and the corporate sector. Peter discusses how the firm works to ensure excellence for every client it works with. “Here at Barfoot & Thompson, our mission is to assist our clients to achieve their financial goals and objectives in relation to the property they own, or are seeking to own. We achieve this through our focus on providing outstanding customer service, being professional and trustworthy, and being results driven. “To ensure exceptional customer service at all times, our culture is based around family values, and this is ingrained into every sales person who joins the company. Currently we employ some 1700 sales and property management people who operate from more than 60 branches. Every one of our sales team is interviewed by a family member who is a director before they are engaged. It leads to employees having a clear understanding of the culture of the firm they are joining. Additionally, our size enables us to employ specialists who are focused on human resources, on-going training, systems and IT development, and regulatory
22 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
change. Our people are armed with the skills, knowledge and resources to make a success of their career with us.” As testimony to the firm’s success, independent market research consistently rates the Barfoot & Thompson brand as the most trusted real estate name in the market. Peter is eager to emphasise that this is a team effort, and the internal culture at the firm drives the company to success.
“To ensure exceptional customer service at all times, our culture is based around family values, and this is ingrained into every sales person who joins the company.” “Key to our achievements over recent years has been the fact that a member of the two founding families has managed the business since its inception, and our internal culture of being a family business has never varied. Our culture is deeply ingrained and is part of everything we do. We encourage people to excel, to achieve and be the very best they can, and we recognise those that do. “Alongside this, we subscribe to the belief that we are part of the communities in which we operate, and encourage our people to get involved with local and city-wide activities. We support these activities financially and are major sponsors of large and small sporting, cultural and social activities. For example, we were not only a major financial supporter of the World Masters Games, the largest sporting event ever held in the country, significant numbers of staff competed and or acted as volunteers for the event.”
Keeping Success in the Family
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 23
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Looking ahead, modernisation will be the firm’s core focus as it seeks to remain at the forefront of emerging developments in the real estate market and embraces technology, as Peter highlights. “Undoubtedly technology will transform the real estate business in the future. Already, being able to market property via all forms of devices, make virtual house tours and undertake research on a property via the internet has made a big impact. It is my belief that this is only the beginning. Rather than seeing this as a threat, we see it as an opportunity to serve our clients even better. “In being determined to remain on the leading edge of these developments we also firmly believe that face to face, one on one contact will continue to give our brand the edge over competitors. The two will go hand in hand, and we will invest heavily in both to ensure continued excellence for everyone who works with Barfoot & Thompson.” Ultimately, through his role as Managing Director Peter understands the need to drive innovation in Barfoot & Thompson, and moving forward this will remain his ongoing focus as he looks to drive the company to continued success. “Running a family business on the verge of celebrating its 100th birthday certainly adds unique challenges to the role of chief executive. Among them is a sense of history and responsibility to past generations, and the need to ultimately transfer the business to the next generation in a better shape than when you took over. The appointment is a long-term one rather than medium term engagement.
“The need to modernise, to keep innovating and leading is always there, but needs to be balanced with tradition, culture and expectation.” “The need to modernise, to keep innovating and leading is always there, but needs to be balanced with tradition, culture and expectation. The concept of long service and loyalty to the company remains among staff, and needs to be respected. We take pride in developing and maintaining long-term relationships with business partners. We expect sharp pricing and superb service, but do not ‘review relationships’ just to see what’s out there. One example is we have dealt with the same bank for nearly 100 years. “My personal approach is to lead strategically, and from the front line. Members of the founding families who work in the company are expected to understand how it operates by working ‘on the shop floor’ and earning their promotion to management positions based on ability. As such, I would never except a member of my staff to do something that I was not able and willing to undertake myself. It is this approach that will help us to continue to thrive and prosper, and as such I look forward to even greater achievements in the future.”
24 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
Keeping Success in the Family
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 25
1712WF15
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
A Desert Island Focus on U.S. Small Companies For over 30 years, Granahan Investment Management (GIM) has been an investment boutique specializing in U.S. small cap equities, believing that a portfolio of well-positioned small cap companies can generate superior investment returns for the firm’s clients. We spoke to Karen Agnew, SVP and Director of Marketing who provides us with an overview of one of the leading boutique investment managers in the finance industry.
GIM is an independent, employee-owned investment boutique with a singular focus on the smaller cap sector of the market. Its clients benefit from this focus, as the team is not distracted by the potential conflicts associated with varying asset classes or hedge fund-like structures. Throughout GIM’s long history, its clients have enjoyed strong returns, both on an absolute basis and relative to the small cap benchmarks. Specific to the Focused Growth strategy (the underlying strategy for the Granahan U.S. Focused Growth Fund), its 10-year record since inception is in the top 1% of all U.S. equity strategies listed in the eVestment database. This exceptional performance is a reflection of the investment team’s focus on smaller companies that drive innovation and positive disruption in the global economy. Karen tells us a bit about the clients that GIM works with, and provides a bit more information on the investment strategy for the Granahan U.S. Focused Growth Fund.
“Typically, our clients include well-respected financial service and private wealth firms, sophisticated plan sponsors, and individual investors. In a nutshell, our clients are those who seek to capitalize on the innovation and technological advances that drive the US and global economies. Our slate of micro/ small/SMID/mid-cap offerings is designed to fit the differing needs of investors, both institutional and private wealth clients. “The Focused Growth strategy, was conceived and funded by veteran investor, Drew Beja, CFA, in 2007. Based on client interest, GIM launched the Granahan U.S. Focused Growth Fund to mirror the timetested Focused Growth strategy. Drew is the portfolio manager of the strategy and the U.S. Focused Growth Fund. While he oversees the Fund, Drew collaborates closely with, and benefits from, GIM’s team of veteran portfolio managers.” Featuring in the UCITS Fund of the Year Awards is a great honour for GIM, and
Karen explains how the team feels to have been selected, and what it means to be recognised for all their hard work. “It is an honour for our firm to be recognized by Wealth & Finance International. It is our mission to help clients achieve strong investment returns. This award will allow more people to become familiar with GIM, our investment offerings, and the virtues of investing in high quality secular growth stocks in the smaller cap sector of the US market.” Critical to the Fund’s ongoing success, are the techniques that the team at GIM employ in order to stay ahead of developments in the small cap sector, as well as use of the right technologies to continue as a leading small cap boutique. “GIM is a bottom-up, fundamental shop. Each member of the investment team has deep knowledge and resources in their respective areas of expertise, including industry networks developed over many years. One of the most exciting things about small cap investing, is being at the forefront of innovation of new technologies and business models.” Fundamentally, the industry has become more sophisticated and technologydominated. That said, Karen gives us GIM’s view on perhaps the largest challenge they believe investors face going forward. “A major challenge we hear from investors, is that they are struggling to meet their return requirements to enable them to meet their future obligations, which is not surprising given the overall low-growth of the global economy. There are few asset classes that offer good potential for high rates of investment returns.
26 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
A Desert Island Focus on U.S. Small Companies
“At GIM, we are 100% focused on an area that does have the prospect of generating strong investment returns over the next decade. In particular, for the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund, we seek small cap secular growth companies positioned to sustain 15%+ growth over the next 5-10 years. We refer to such companies as ‘Desert Island’ companies, as we believe that if one were sent to a desert island for 5-7 years, upon return, these companies will have grown to be much larger enterprises. Focused Growth portfolio manager, Drew Beja, CFA, is quick to praise the team at GIM while he discusses which companies make up the universe of investable prospects for the Focused Growth strategy. Drew also alludes to the stringent process that the firm has in place which helps the company to succeed. “Investing with the Desert Island mindset drives us to focus on companies that we think can sustain high growth for a long period of time. We have a terrific team and a disciplined investment process that enables us to capture the growth inherent in some of the most exciting companies in the U.S. These companies typically have large openended opportunities, a strong customer value proposition, superb management and corporate cultures, solid balance sheets, and expanding margins and cash flows. “Put another way, we’ve got world-class fishermen fishing in a well-stocked pond, and this increases our odds of success. “Critical to the Focused Growth strategy’s long-term performance is how we combine our fundamental company analysis with a strict valuation discipline centered on each stock’s risk/reward, with particular attention paid to the downside of the risk/ reward equation. Unwavering adherence to this disciplined investment philosophy and process, has resulted in the strategy’s exceptional long-term investment record.” Not just content with providing the best products and services, it is also vital that GIM provide great customer service when working in such a client-oriented industry. Karen explains what GIM does to ensure customers receive the very best support. “Our world-class client base sets a very high bar for the firms with which they entrust their investments. We are proud to employ best-practices in all areas of the firm, from investment research to trading to compliance and back office, and of course, client service.
“For instance, GIM seeks to ensure that we offer the vehicles best suited to our clients, while retaining our focus on providing strong results. In response to feedback from our investor base, we are launching a new performance-based share class for the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund in the coming months. This new structure may be of particular interest to those comparing the Fund to a potential investment in a passive Index strategy or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). With the new share class, in the event the Focused Growth Fund underperforms its benchmark, the Fund fees will be roughly equal to a passive index fund. As is the case with all our investment offerings, daily liquidity is standard. “As a specialist in one area of the market, small cap equities, GIM takes great pride in its client-centric approach to provide personalized service. The firm’s dedicated client service team averages over 20 years’ experience.” Superior customer service stems from a happy working environment, and Karen details how the team ensures that there is a thriving internal culture. Taking responsibility and putting the client first are major aspects of what makes the company successful. “The founders structured GIM to bring out the best in its team members by promoting personal accountability within a collaborative environment. GIM provides the tools
necessary for every employee to do their best work for our clients. While we work closely together, we are performance-driven with our own individual incentives closely aligned with the success of our clients. “At GIM, we take the responsibility of generating strong performance very seriously. We never forget that we are working for our clients’ goals – for endowments and foundation to do their important work, for retirement plans to meet their return targets, and for individuals to build wealth to achieve financial security and their retirement objectives. Signing off, the CEO at GIM, Jane White emphasises what great job the team does in a particularly challenging industry, and how she is particularly proud of the strong success that the firm has achieved. “Ultimately, in a low-growth world where pension plans, foundations and other investors face increasingly challenging return requirements, I am especially proud of the performance returns the Focused Growth strategy has generated for our clients over the years, and for the recognition of the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund by Wealth & Finance International. Importantly for our Fund investors, I have high confidence that the GIM team can continue to produce excellent returns over the next 10 years and beyond because of our disciplined, time-tested processes.”
Company: Granahan Investment Management, Inc. Contact: Karen Agnew, SVP & Director of Marketing Email: kagnew@granahan.com David Gallagher, VP, Global Investor Relations Email: dgallagher@granahan.com Address: 404, Wyman Street, Suite 460, Waltham, MA, 02451, USA Phone: 001 781 890 4412 Website: www.granahan.com
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 27
1712WF18
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Built on Experience
Company: Coupland Cardiff Asset Management Contact Name: Richard Cardiff Email: enquiries@ccam-asia.com Address: 31-32 St. James’s Street, London, SW1A 1HD Telephone: +44 207 321 3470 Web Address: www.couplandcardiff.com
Coupland Cardiff (CCAM) is a specialist Asian and Japanese fund management group, focused on managing capacity constrained, performance focused funds within a risk controlled framework. We invited Richard Cardiff to give us an overview of this exciting asset management.
CCAM follows a bottom-up, fundamentally driven research process which helps it to focus its time on detailed company visits and proprietary analysis. The team believe that over time, this approach will achieve superior results. Typically, the firm deals with Pension, asset and wealth managers, and in order to further enhance the returns for its investors, CCAM operates with the belief that all funds should be capacity constrained, concentrated and freed from any benchmark constraints, leading to the company being able to express its best ideas. With a vision of delivering quality, Richard outlines the firm’s mission and what methods staff use in order to reach their targets. “Put simply, our mission is basically to achieve excellence in three key areas: investment performance, operations and client service. We achieve this by hiring the highest calibre individuals we can, in their respective fields and then refrain from getting them to focus on anything other than that, whilst giving them the support internally to achieve success.”
Richard explains how he ensures that CCAM stays ahead of emerging developments in the industry and what techniques they employ. He refers to the firm’s excellent use of technology and relative experience which enables the team to predict and adapt to any advances. “At CCAM, we utilise technology when it comes to trading to reduce cost to our clients, however when it comes to research, we rely on the collective 138 years of experience of our investment team to identify the best ideas we can.” Essentially, the boutique nature of the firm coupled with the thriving and happy working environment means that staff are able to exceed client expectations on a regular basis. Richard refers to the unrivalled talent within the firm’s employee base, and emphasises that staff turnover is very low, which is a key aspect of staff happiness. “Crucial to our success, our staff are everything to CCAM and the quality of our staff is, we believe, second to none. All play a significant role in the success of the firm from front to back office. CCAM is wholly owned by members of the team and as such, it is not distracted by external factors or required to make compromises to our main objectives around client outcomes. Testament to this is the fact that staff turnover has been very low.” Commenting on the bright future ahead for CCAM, Richard is keen to mention that the specific trends that are being noticed within the financial industry suit the firm perfectly thanks to its specialist nature. Looking for new areas to expand and pioneer new solutions, there are new opportunities to explore, particularly in Japan, where CCAM has made some ground-breaking strides. “Opportunity-wise, we are seeing more investors moving away from the crowded and unproductive centre-ground offered by more generalist funds, into both the ETF and the highly active fund specialist market. As a specialist, we are perfectly placed to benefit from this trend and are already seeing strong inflows across our range of funds. Also, we are constantly assessing our fund range, to identify
28 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
in conjunction with clients, areas that we may be innovative, such as was the case when we launched the CC Japan income & Growth fund in 2013 and the CC Japan Income & Growth Trust in 2015, the first Japanese investment trust launch for 20 years.” Lastly, Richard is keen to add how the stability of CCAM has greatly benefitted the firm in various ways. He is particularly enthusiastic about the wealth of experience within the company, and this experience alongside expertise exemplifies the high-quality nature of CCAM. “Integral to the achievements of CCAM is the stability of the firm over the last 12 years. The quality of portfolio managers and analysts we have in place, enables us to continue to deliver exceptional returns for investors over the coming years, and in the fastest growing markets in the world. These are markets that have not only grown rapidly over this time, but also have excellent prospects for the longer term. We are confident that we will continue to deliver superior returns and service our clients around the world to the highest quality. “Ultimately, our fund management team have spent their careers investing across Asia and Japan and have strong track records. All seven portfolio managers are specialists in their investment field and between them they undertake around 2000 company visits a year. CCAM believe that the combination of scrutinising data, as well as analysing companies at a face-to-face level allows us to truly understand a stock, interpret markets with greater clarity and deliver superior performance.”
Built on Experience
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 29
1712WF21
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Putting Clients at the Heart of Wealth Management
Company: Capitalium Advisors SA Address: 16, rue de la Pélisserie, CH – 1204 Geneva Phone: +41 22 544 63 00 Website: www.capitaliumadvisors.ch
Capitalium Advisors® is an independent wealth management company based in Geneva, offering premium services for international clients. We profile the firm to learn more and explore the secrets behind its success. Founded in 2016, Capitalium Advisors was born of its partners’ determination to become independent, in order to guarantee their clients the highest possible standards of service and without any conflict of interests. Today, the firm’s founders continue to share a passion for entrepreneurism, abide by common values and adhere to a collective vision to redefine wealth management and its practices. In tune with a new generation of clients, the associates of Capitalium Advisors understand evolving expectations as well as the stakes that are at play. As such, they are able to offer clients an innovative approach, built on rigor and excellence. Offering an innovative, approach, the firm aims to always work with its clients’ needs in mind. While banks focus on staying profitable by cutting costs and raising prices, Capitalium Advisors constantly invest in enhancing its offering. This is the only way that the firm can create concrete and tangible added value. Merely cutting costs is the reaction of those who are unable to renew their offering and adjust to clients’ new expectations. Alongside this client focused strategy, to ensure that clients receive the solution that they truly need, the company develops solutions especially tailored to them, whether they are families, the emerging generation of millennials or entrepreneurs. Its offering is threefold, and comprises of Casa Invest, Casa Nexgen and Casa Advice. The first, Casa Invest, manages discretionary mandates, consultancies and supervisory services. The firm’s investment landscape covers all types of financial assets and monetary bases. To ensure strong returns, the company implements tax-efficient management, in the structures and in the investments it selects.
30 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
The second is Casa Nexgen, a proprietary concept which is the non-financial branch of the Capitalium Advisors services. It is targeted above all to families, helping them tackle challenges related to the transmission of patrimony. The firm offers an ecosystem built upon three pillars that the young generation interacts with on a regular basis: investment, education and mentoring. Finally, through Casa Advice the Capitalium Advisors team help clients to maintain total control over their private affairs, with a team of professionals who master the challenges and increasing complexities of today’s environment. The company has equipped itself with state-ofthe-art tools that allow for granular monitoring and analysis of financial assets.
Offering an innovative, approach, the firm aims to always work with its clients’ needs in mind. Overall, the firm has achieved exceptional success despite its relative youth. Within a few months, Capitalium Advisors has positioned itself definitively as a player able to offer a true alternative to traditional banks. Looking ahead, Capitalium Advisors will continue to expand both organically and externally while continuing to demonstrate the added value of a business model that is close to its clients and with no conflicts of interests. Backed by common sense, hard work, boldness and enthusiasm, the firm is well-positioned to implement its ambitious plans.
Putting Clients at the Heart of Wealth Management
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 31
1712WF24
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
It is all About Performance Herculis Partners SA provides HNWI clients with easy access to unique sets of investment specialized vehicles, including hedge funds, private equity, special situation in its dedicated areas, aimed at steady and regular performances. We profile the firm as we look to explore the secrets behind its success.
Founded in 2009, Herculis Partners SA was born from a partnership of two Swiss and Russian experts in finance and law respectively. The partners founded Herculis Partners to share their values in their services to these customers from a platform rooted in Switzerland for quality and stability, emphasizing principles of ethics, transparency and performance. These are also the values and expertise that the partners, Mr. Karpenko and Mr. Périat wanted to offer to their existing customers, and more broadly to the public and entrepreneurs in the Jura and Basel areas, as well as in Switzerland and neighbouring countries. Headquartered in Herculis House in Porrentruy, Herculis Partners SA also has a branch located in Geneva. The company proposes all the wealth management services dedicated to HNWIs, and the skilled team is composed of experienced asset managers who are opportunistic and invest in a long-term basis. Always looking to produce the best results, Herculis are able to inform and advise clients in the financial fields, and act as facilitators in business negotiations through a vast network of relationships in its geographic area and industrial expertise. Subsequently, the partnership has quickly expanded to become a key intermediary to their customers to open the doors of Swiss institutions and to offer relocation services to our clientele. The activity of multi-family offices was launched and has never faded over the years. Ever expanding, Herculis Trustees AG was then founded to assist clients with solutions to various issues, including taxes and other legal structures, in which the partners created a second company located in Zürich. The Family Office constitutes a team of experts who have one objective: creating an environment in which the wealth will not lose its value despite changes between generations and external factors, such as various legislative and tax amendments. As a result, Herculis Trustees AG developed a circle of competences to bring together a certain group of customers, supplying all the support,
32 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
recommendations and intermediation they would require. Services offered include creating, and subsequently managing a suitable corporate structure, such as a family holding company and foundation, that would be in charge of the family business and financial assets. It also allows them to acquire real estate, and to assist them from acquiring companies to the setting up of education plans of the youngest. Herculis Guardians SA was created as the company’s headquarters in Porrentruy was completely restored in 2015. The new company offers clients with a zone of safe-boxes and vaults into the new building in a high-security environment. With regard to the new company, Herculis Guardians SA proposes to its customers the possibility to rent a safe box, which comes in various sizes to store the goods they want. Goods stored include personal documents, precious stones, gold, computer backups and many others. In order to rent the safe in total discretion, only ID is required along with signing a normal lease contract. Herculis Guardians’ customers benefit from a discreet, inviolable, accessible at all times place to store their treasure coupled with a unique high-end service -luxury, security and availability. Moreover, Herculis Guardians also has a “free port” area in order to keep in custody precious stones, wine and paintings in a free tax environment on a long-term period in a controlled environment, with the relevant temperature and humidity. On top of that, Herculis Guardians will take care of the custody administration in highly secured premises, as much as of top banking vaults. Ultimately, the Partners of Herculis Partners SA are very proud to have been selected for the Global Excellence Awards of 2017 as “the Most Outstanding Family Office Services 2017 – Switzerland”. It comforted the team in its strong desire to serve its clients and offer them the most appropriate advice to meet their personal issues, as well as to provide them with the best services. It will strongly motivate the Herculis teams to continue to meet with the highest demands and share this award, thanks to Global Excellence.
Company: Herculis Partners SA Contact: Nikolay Karpenko Email: nkarpenko@herculispartners.ch Address: 30, rue 23 Juin, Porrentruy, 2900, Switzerland Phone: 0041325 520220 Website: www.herculis.ch
It is all About Performance
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 33
FI170010
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Infinite Expertise
Company: Infinox Capital Limited Contact: Jay Mawji Email: jay.mawji@infinox.com Address: Birchin Court, 20 Birchin Lane, London, EC3V 9DU, UK Phone: 020 3713 4490 Website: https://infinox.com/en/
Infinox Capital is a global brokerage, headquartered in London and providing a range of services to its valued clients. We spoke to Jay Mawji to learn more about the firm and how it works to provide the very highest standards of support and service.
Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority since 2009, Infinox offers clients the chance to trade the financial markets through market leading global infrastructure, with cutting edge technology and execution. Supporting a range of clients including Asset Managers and Funds, Corporate Entities, Professional Traders and Retail Traders, the firm works hard to ensure that it provides only the highest possible standards of support, as Jay explains. “Here at Infinox, our mission is to provide clients access to the financial markets, where their brokerage is working on their side. We achieve this by focusing all our actions on our key brand values; integrity, inspiration, ambition, excellence. “As such, premium client service is at the core of our culture is the founding pillar upon which we started the company. All of our clients have a personal account manager, supported by a strong client service team that speak multiple languages including English, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin. Clients can communicate with us via telephone, online chat and email, 24/5. At Infinox, our clients are more than just an account number; they are a person.” As with any service driven firm, at Infinox staff are vital to creating a successful business. As such, Jay is keen to highlight the firm’s commitment to offering a supportive internal culture. “Infinox adopts a culture of pursuing excellence. The firm is focused on finding a better way and refining it. It is a never ending process, the pursuit of perfection never ends. By no means is Infinox perfect, but the adoption of looking through best practice to better practice in terms of technology, execution, regulation and client services reflects in our industry reputation of being ahead of the main stream industry. “Our strongest asset in the firm is the culture of the team. It is a conducive environment that allows for an eclectic mix of experienced and talented professionals working alongside apprentices on government schemes. There is an open path in the firm for individuals to move across within the
34 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
business where their skills and interests lie. We have had examples of young graduates moving through the firm to take senior positions on our risk desk, client service team and compliance department. With a team that is so committed and passionate about their work and the company, providing a premium client service comes naturally. “To ensure that we always attract team players who are happy to support us and work with our clients to achieve excellence, our recruitment policy is open and friendly. We are fortunate in that our reputation in the industry means that we tend to have strong candidates for roles that become available. Whilst we are very clear and specific in who we believe can fit into our teams, we do not adopt a laborious employment process and always leave space for candidates to impress.” Ultimately, the future looks bright for Infinox, as the firm seeks to grow even further and build upon its current achievements, as Jay proudly concludes.
“Infinox adopts a culture of pursuing excellence. The firm is focused on finding a better way and refining it. It is a never ending process, the pursuit of perfection never ends.” “Overall, 2017 has been a busy year at Infinox. We have achieved some key goals within the business in terms of delivering on projects and strategies as well as posting a strong growth. Looking ahead, 2018 will begin with us introducing a new product focused on our retail clients, giving them the tools and information they will need to see the financial markets in a new light.”
Infinite Expertise
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 35
1712WF16
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Economic Crime Fighters
Company: Nexus Forensic Services (Pty) Ltd Contact: Mary-Anne Whittles Email: mwhittles@nexfor.co.za Address: Inkwazi Office Park (Block D), 1249 Embankment Road, Centurion, 0157, Gauteng, South Africa Tel number: +27 12 664 5568 Website: www.nexusforensics.co.za
Nexus Forensic Services plays a leading role in the forensics industry through its involvement and membership in self-regulatory bodies. One of the Directors of Nexus, Mary-Anne Whittles provides us with an overview of the company’s services and future aspirations.
Founded in 2006, Nexus is the most successful medium size forensic company in South Africa. The idea of Nexus Forensic Services was born from a passion to fight economic crime. Situated in the Gauteng Province, the company allows direct access to National Government Departments and the Head Offices of the private-sector clients, due to Gauteng being the economic hub of South Africa. Mary-Anne describes what aspects contribute to the firm’s success, including the firm’s extensive qualifications and values.
of experience. On top of this, our diverse skills comprise of forensic investigators, accountants, auditors, data analysts, legal, labour, cyber and digital crime experts.”
“Here at Nexus, our constant success resulted in the founding of two other companies; Nexus Training Academy and Vuvuzela Hotline. Essentially, the secret of our achievement is to always live up to our four core values; Integrity, Quality, Development and Growth.”
Management ensures that employees acquire the skills required to complete tasks at a high standard, through internal training and a lot of encouragement. Sometimes people just need a little push to move out of their comfort zone.
Nexus holds membership in the following bodies; Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Ethics Institute of South Africa, Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners and the Institute of Risk Management South Africa. MaryAnne explains how the team ensure that staff work cohesively, looking to reach certain goals. “In order for us to provide quality deliverables, we have 25 professional staff members who have collectively amassed more than 285 years
Furthermore, Nexus also invests in its own employees. The management is especially hands on in the professional services provided, while still allowing employees the space to grow and think independently. At Nexus, staff are not just a number.
Being versatile and adaptable, the firm’s service offerings enable it to be a one-stop-shop for clients in both the private and government sectors. MaryAnne comments on the exceptional standard of service and products that Nexus provides. “Offering inception to completion forensic services which are objective, evidence based and conducted without fear or favour, giving our clients peace of mind to deal with day to day business while we take care of the fraudsters.” “Essentially, the quality and reliability of the evidence we gather during our investigations are of such a high standard that we ensure excellence, usually helping our clients by solving solutions and negating the needs to clients.” Repeat business and business through word of mouth is a sign of success. Mary-Anne comments on the fact that Nexus has taken on more and more work, thanks to its unique marketing skills and dedication to making a difference. “Throughout this year, we have been privileged that we have had an influx of work. The board of directors took a conscious decision, during the course of last year, to become more visible within the forensic fraternity and that required longer hours, more strategic focus and a lot of hard work.”
36 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
“Marketing ourselves to our clients is a natural occurrence, because we aim to make a difference in delivering quality work and our clients have become accustomed to getting value for their money. Many of our assignments are as a result of recurring business, this can be attributed to the clients trust in the quality of our work.” Not just helping clients, Nexus also provide training to their counterparts, enabling other companies to develop and sharpen their own skills, as MaryAnne alludes to. “Many of our clients require us to transfer skills to their staff, through on-the-job training, by working with us. This also enables them to develop and sharpen their own skills pro-actively, by dealing with potential economic crime within their organisations. “At Nexus, all of the staff members are beneficiaries of a trust. As such, we all share in the profits of our company. Since we work for ourselves, this approach fosters and promotes a culture of accountability, to always provide our best in everything that we do.” Ultimately, the future looks bright for Nexus, having recently performed successful projects on the African continent, including Botswana, Lesotho and other numerous African countries. Mary-Anne tells us that the firm is in the process of further expanding its footprint in Africa, as well as hinting at exciting times on the horizon. “Looking ahead, at Nexus we have already commenced growing our services into the medical aid schemes and insurance claim industries. To be effective in the fight against economic crime and unethical practices, efficiency in prevention, detection and reaction, is paramount. We provide all services to effectively achieve this objective.”
Economic Crime Fighters
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 37
1712WF23
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Seven Squared Square Asset Management is an innovative Lisbon based firm specialising in real estate asset management. We profile the firm to find out more about its portfolio and how it works to ensure excellence for its investors.
Established in 2002, Square Asset Management has since grown to become the largest openended fund asset management in Portugal with over €950m AUM. Holding specific expertise in real estate management, development, investment fund market, law and banking, Square Asset Management’s renowned management team is the only team on the market working together for 27 years, offering clients reassurance that they are in safe hands when they work with this dedicated and experienced firm. Offering either income funds, such as its flagship product, CA Património Crescente (CA PC REF), and distressed asset funds, Square Asset Management offers something to meet the needs of a variety of investors. CA PC REF is an open-ended fund with daily valuation and liquidity. It has won the MSCI/IPD Award for best performing Iberian/Portuguese fund for 7 years in a row. Thanks to this success, the firm is now seeking to raise international finance with a strategy that aims to replicate the firm’s award winning balanced strategy for generating strong income with low volatility.
38 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
To ensure excellence for investors, the fund is managed with the purpose of building a balanced portfolio of properties across the various market segments, with solid tenants and long term leases duration. An experienced management team and excellent portfolio selection have been the key to the CA PC fund’s strong performance. Thanks to this approach, as of June 2017, CA PC REF continues to consolidate its image as one of the best products on the investment market achieving expressive, positive monthly results based on cash-on-cash returns since inception, and above 20 000 unit holders. Fundamentally, Risk management has been at the heart of Square AM management team, 27 years’ experience in developing and refining a methodology to manage a core real estate portfolio under the heavy UCIT regulatory constraints, and in particular those of daily liquidity and daily valuation. This strategy, along with other open-ended fund specific features has enabled Square AM team to deliver positive returns every month over the last 27 years. Looking ahead, Square Asset Management is working to broad horizons by captivating foreign investors for separate accounts. A new fund is emerging in Luxembourg to share all the same expertise and success well known to the Portuguese market, and this will allow the firm to grow and prosper over the coming years.
Company: Square Asset Management Contact: Luis Souto Email: Luis.Souto@squaream.pt Address: RUA Tierno Galvan, Torre 3, Lisbon, 1070 -274, Portugal Phone: 00 351 21 380 8290 Website: www.squaream.pt
Seven Squared
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 39
1711WF28
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Success is Carved in Stone for Runestone Capital
Company: Runestone Capital Name: Rune Madsen Address: Runestone Capital, 239 Kensington High Street, W8 6SN, London, UK Telephone: +44 207 316 3084 Email: rune.madsen@runestonecap.com Web Address: http://runestonecap.com/
Runestone Capital is a global, top-performing, systematic volatility hedge fund managed in London. We invited Rune Madsen to provide us with a fascinating insight into the firm, which was awarded Most Trusted Asset Management Services in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards.
Founded in 2014, Runestone Capital was originally established to identify unique investment opportunities with superior risk-adjusted performance and is a systematic quantitative long/short, absolute return fund. Today, the strategy aims to deliver in excess of 20 percent net annualized returns over a cycle, regardless of market conditions.
at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse) and have been trading volatility for clients and with their own money since 2009.”
The fund is non-correlated to both equity market and volatility itself. The strategy has been backtested since 2005 and the fund went live that same year, generating a 25 percent return since launch. The fund is part of the CBOE Eurekahedge Volatility Hedge Fund indices, which consists of 66 funds and where Runestone Capital is a top-performer. In the live period, the fund has outperformed its peer group of volatility funds, CTA’s, global hedge funds, the equity market, and the bond market. Rune outlines the fund’s strategy in more detail and explores how this helps it to achieve excellence for its valued investors.
“Within the wider financial market, on aggregate, hedge fund performance has been sub-par in recent years, which is unfortunate for the industry as whole and has made capital raising more challenging for most funds, including ours. However, we believe the combination of our investment approach, combined with the fact we operate in a less crowded strategy space, places us in an attractive position, which will continue to generate attractive returns. The fund has also managed to outperform our peer group of volatility funds, CTAs and global hedge funds since inception.
“Here at Runestone Capital, our proprietary active management models are designed for institutional and qualified investors seeking alpha-driven returns. Our investment strategy aims to profit from capturing movements in volatility, primarily related to the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index (VIX) futures. It is a dedicated pure volatility strategy, i.e. it will take long or short positions in volatility, based on quantitative models and statistical probabilities. “The fund is not a tail-event fund and will hence take advantage of markets with both increasing and decreasing volatility. Additionally, our fund is denominated in USD and has a monthly investment cycle. The management team has over 28 years of investment experience (previously
40 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
Drawing on his experience in the hedge fund space, Rune has a strong insight into the developments that are occurring currently and is eager to explore how they will affect his firm.
“To stay at the forefront of emerging developments in this constantly evolving space, at Runestone Capital we implement quantitative driven models and are constantly researching the existing framework, as well as analysing ways to improve our performance. Our focus is on short-term strategies that are adaptable to a wide range of scenarios, and hence these are optimally placed to perform well over the cycle. We are convinced that by employing a systematic approach we are removing ego and emotions from the process, which has shown improved risk/return characteristic over time.” Looking to the future, Rune foresees exciting opportunities ahead for Runestone Capital as it seeks to build upon its current success and grow even further, as he is proud to conclude.
“Overall, 2017 has been an exhilarating year for Runestone Capital, as our team has grown from two to five people in the last six months and our assets has grown 500 percent this year. This has occurred as more investors have started to realise the value in our offering. We aim to grown even further by four to six times next year based on investor interest and an ever-expanding pipeline. Our main goal is solid risk adjusted return and this will be our most important marketing tool. The process behind our strategy is always been tested and questioned and we aim to further improve it over the year ahead.”
Success is Carved in Stone for Runestone Capital
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 41
1712WF13
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
Reimagine Your © Investments
Company: Breakform Realty Ventures Contact: Ridaa Murad Email: rmurad@breakformre.com Address: 109 Eucalyptus Drive, El Segundo, California, 90245, USA Website: www.breakformre.com
Breakform Realty Ventures is the preeminent residential development company in the prime submarkets of coastal Southern California, including the hottest sub market of Venice Beach CA, also called “Silicon Beach.” Ridaa Murad gives us an overview of the inner workings within the firm.
Breakform build architecturally significant, energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing residences in the beach communities between Malibu Beach CA to Newport Beach CA. The company is a fully integrated real estate development and investment management company that has its own in house construction, design, entitlement and fund management teams. Ridaa provides us with an outline of the firm’s overall mission. “Breakform creates sustainable, eco-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and architectural structures for residents who are proud to call them home and make it their hearth. We want to create functional design, that drives us, and so we run our entire firm like a start-up, with every voice encouraged to speak up, ideas to flourish. This drives the returns of our projects, this keeps our investors coming back, and this leads to better profitability than anyone else in our space. Working within such a competitive industry, it is integral that Breakform stands out amongst its competitors, and Ridaa tells us how the firm entices clients, ensuring that they get the best business. “What helps us to distinguish ourselves from others are our delivery timelines, our profitability, our delivery on our word, our integration of the skillsets and the trades. Our niche focus on fragmentation and dislocation within the asset class, through opportunistic transactions separates us from the pack. All these combined, repeated and mastered makes us a simply better option for our clients.” Featuring in the Real Estate Top 100, Ridaa tells us about the firm’s latest project, listing how exciting it was and also what the firm learnt from the project. There were some logistical challenges which Ridaa alludes to, however, the firm embraces these potentially challenging issues and works hard to overcome them. “Working in Venice Beach CA, we constantly work under some of the toughest development environments in the world. The area has its own Specific Development Plan that supersedes the
42 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
City of Los Angeles building code, as it is in a dual Coastal Development Plans Zone. However, it does not have its own so you have to work with the State and City of Los Angeles to adhere to the Costal Plans of each, and because of the proximity to the Ocean, all our projects here are also covered under the CEQA, Mello and other various environmental and Affordable Housing Acts. “Furthermore, these are all challenges we constantly navigate, on a daily basis. Important to us is keeping the community abreast of our work, getting them to agree to our projects and get those approved through the local neighbourhood council and the local Land Use and Planning bodies. All of this must happen whilst at the same time creating residences which people are proud and honoured to call home, and the community is proud to see being built. Those are our proudest achievements.”
“What helps us to distinguish ourselves from others are our delivery timelines, our profitability, our delivery on our word, our integration of the skillsets and the trades.” Crucially, the firm is very client oriented and works hard to always please the customer. Ridaa tells us about Breakform’s approach to working on a project, and the key areas which the company focuses on in order to ensure success. “Essentially, the profitability of each and every project begins with the sourcing and acquisition of the project. We are extremely selective, sourcing assets that are the gem of locations driven by the tenet in real estate location, location, location. We buy our profits on the day the acquisition is made. We grow those profits by designing things that can be built fast and efficiently whilst also within budget, and we monetize those profits by finding the right buyer for each of our projects. All of this takes intense amount of focus, integration, timing, project management skills. It is like solving a giant jigsaw puzzle, but one that has a huge amount
Reimagine Your Investments Š
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 43
www.wealthandfinance-news.com
of financial risk on the line. We have done this so many times now that it’s become second nature. Always optimizing, forever maximizing is how we like to define our process.” In an increasingly technology dominated industry, there is a lot more demand and skill required in order to ensure that every project is completed to the highest possible standard. Ridaa comments on the fact that technology is now ever present in all aspects of Breakform’s work. “Basically, we use technology everywhere, from asset sourcing (to find the best value and most opportunistic transactions), to project management (to make sure all trades are working in the most efficient manner, to make sure all inputs are ordered and show up as they are needed, to reduce change orders and streamline deliveries), to electronic rent management, to using crowdfunding and peer to peer capital stack management, and e-banking, we are at the forefront of technology use within the real estate investment management universe.” This leads us on to the internal culture within the firm, as despite the industry becoming more and more technology oriented, there are steps which must be taken in order to ensure a personal approach is still adopted. Ridaa explains how the company makes the working environment enjoyable for its employees.
“Breakform is a start-up at heart, but operates as an institutional business which we still leave open for disruption and change, to the acceptance of new and better ideas, to evolution.” “Breakform is a start-up at heart, but operates as an institutional business which we still leave open for disruption and change, to the acceptance of new and better ideas, to evolution. In our business change is the only constant and those who do not adopt eventually die. We thrive on these ideals and it makes our work environment fun for our employees.” Looking ahead, there is an exciting future ahead for Breakform. Ridaa notes that there are a lot of projects which the firm has undertaken and there are steps in place which will help Breakform reach its goals. “Ultimately, we are working on a few Small Lot Subdivisions, multiple high end apartment, condo and town home projects and approximately a dozen high end luxury residences. We would like to scale our business to become a Top 50 US luxury residential homebuilder and we hope to get there by 2025. Clients will feel the real benefit if they come and take a walk with us, learn what we do and invest in our projects, and invest in the company, trusting us here at Breakform.
44 Wealth & Finance International - December 2017
Reimagine Your Investments Š
Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 45
Subscribe
and keep up to date with the latest industry news across both traditional and alternative investment sectors. Distributed each month to more than 130,000 high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, fund managers, institutional investors and professional services firms, Wealth & Finance INTL has rapidly become the go-to resource for those looking to make the right decisions when it comes to securing and growing their wealth.
www.wealthandfinance-news.com