Wealth & Finance International | August 2016
Consulting Elite 2016 I. Yvan Miklin founded Aquila in 1994 as a consulting service for commercial fitness centres and corporate programs. We spoke to him to get an insight into the firm. PAGE 86
Targeting Success
We interviewed CEO and Director of Investment Strategy at Arrow Investment Advisors Joseph Barrato, who provides us with a unique insight into the firm and its award winning funds. PAGE 20
Winning Strategy
TM
Tech You Can Bank On
We got in touch with co-founder and CIO of The Tradex Group Jeff Kong (below) to find out more about the strategy they manage. PAGE 16
FIS, a global leader in financial services technology, give us an insight into their firm. PAGE 42
Holding Their Own We speak to Omar Farooqui (left) the Founder & Managing Partner of CI Holdings & Green Sands Equity. PAGE 12
Finest in Finance
We find out from Dev Vasudeva (left) what it takes to become one of The Best Quality Tax Services in the Industry. PAGE 91 www.wealthandfinance-intl.com
Editor’s Comment Welcome to the August edition of Wealth & Finance International Magazine. CEPRES in August released analysis showing how dislocation between macro-economic cycles and buyout performance can lead to increased returns for smart investors. Dr. Daniel Schmidt – CEO, CEPRES GmbH reveals that, “with all the doom and gloom over Brexit and its impact on world markets, this could be a silver lining for PE investors in financial services companies.” “Brexit certainly sent shockwaves through the world economy” but “more than a month on, the dust is now certainly setting” says Ben Barlow, UMS Freelance Writer. In a special feature, he considers whether investing in the EU post-Brexit is safe and how the markets reacted to the news and whether it is still safe to invest.
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Award-Winning Health and Fitness Consultancy AQUILA
According to PKF International, “the aftermath of the Brexit and possible ramifications this will have on the insurance market is an unravelling phenomenon and one we will need to look out for”. In another perspective, “Brexit fears have delayed some Brits’ plans to buy overseas property, and the fall in value of the Pound has not helped” says Robin Haynes of Currency Index Ltd. Annabel Sedgwick of KDM Communications says that as with the 2008 financial crisis, the key to weathering the storm will be “offering a cost-effective service while maintaining the flexibility to cope with fluctuating marketing priorities and budgets.” While growth estimates for the European economy may be revised downward somewhat, from a fundamental point of view, Sjors Haverkamp at NN Investment Partners says that they see little impact on the global economy from the Brexit outcome. Southern Asbestos Solutions observed following the Brexit vote, they have seen that people are a lot more reserved in regards to placing orders for new projects. In contrast, OzoGroup’s Mario Muscat, founder & managing director. I hope you enjoy reading the many views and perspectives that this edition contains. Jonathan Miles, Editor READ THIS MONTH’S CPD ACCREDITED ISSUE TO GAIN 6 CPD POINTS The content of the following has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles Acquisition International & Wealth & Finance INTL June Edition Online Learning
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Contents 4. News
WEALTH MANAGEMENT 46. Asset Managers Need a Single Point of Access 48. Money Remains the Biggest Conversation Taboo for High
FUNDS 10. Brexit Silver Lining for Private Equity Investors 12. Best Boutique Private Equity Investment Firm – 2016 16. A Strategy That Can Benefit from Rising Interest Rates 18. Hedging Your Bets 20. Arrow Investment Advisors 24. Best Wealth Management Advisory Services - Singapore 26. A One Stop Shop Service 28. PKF Malta - Local Expertise - Global Reach
Net Worth Individuals - But This is Changing 50. A High Level of Success 52. The Important Things in Life 54. A Personalised and Flexible Service 56. A Focussed and Personal Service 58. The Customer is King 60. What Matters Most?
LEGAL 62. Bagging the Box 64. Brexit Prompts Public & Businesses to seek
INVESTMENT 32. Investing in the EU: Is it Safe Post-Brexit? 34. The Death Knell for Savers 36. The Growth of a Pioneer Homegrown Boutique 38. A Well-Known and Highly Respected Currency Specialist 40. Fulfilling Supply Chain Experience 42. Technology You Can Bank On
Legal Advice from Barristers 67. Simply the Asbestos
PERSONNEL 68. Report Shows Companies Using Training to Foster Strong Workplaces, but are Missing the Board and Millennials 70. Driving Forward Human Achievement 75. Staff – The Greatest Asset 76. A Market Leader in Hospitality
MARKETING 78. High Net Worth Marketing - What and Why? 80. There is a Market for That CONSULTING 84. Staying at the Forefront of Industry Practices 86. Award-Winning Health and Fitness Consultancy
Special Wealth & Finance Supplement Finest in Finance 91
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | NEWS
West London’s the Place to Be If You Are a High Flyer Are you thinking of moving to London or simply wondering what kind of neighbourhood you are living in? Emolument, the ‘salary-benchmarking site’ can help you sharpen your understanding of London’s districts!
Home SWest Home! As bankers climb up the ladder, they are likely to move around London: those with experience tend to live in the South West, in areas such as Belgravia, Pimlico (SW1), Holland Park, Notting Hill (W11), or Ravenscourt Park (W6) and Kensington and Chelsea (SW7, W8...). Such areas live up to a banker’s idea of the perfect home: stunning Victorian houses with leafy gardens in quiet yet fashionable neighbourhoods.
Emolument.com has analysed 1301 salaries in London, considered the number of years of experience, focused on jobs in banking and linked all the information with the related postcodes. West London is definitely the well-to-do part of town. Wealthy West. Looking at average salaries, the wealthiest professionals live in West London, across all jobs. Not a surprise since West London has long been favoured by the elite since it was close to the royal seat of power and upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded industrial East of the city. The West attracts high-earning typesto areas such as Kensington (W8), Holland Park (W11), Maida Vale (W9) or Hampstead (NW4).
Alice Leguay, co-founder & COO at Emolument said: “London workers are famed for their fearless attitude to commuting. While some choose to spend a substantial part of their earnings on living close or within Zone 1 - namely many foreign workers who prefer to make sacrifices in order to maintain a social life around other foreign professionals, or stay close to international schools - many will eschew cramped London for green spaces and a better quality of life away from the capital.”
The Isle of Bankers? The majority of bankers in this study live on the Isle of Dogs (E14). This is a prime location considering how close it is to Canary Wharf. Other favourite locations are Islington (N1), Battersea (SW11) and Southwark (SE1), which are also relatively close to the City or Canary Wharf. Most banks have their headquarters either in the City (Standard Chartered or Lloyds banking Group) or in Canary Wharf (HSBC or Barclays).
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Gaming Platform Project M Secures Title of Fastest Growing UK Franchise Investment Superseding Subway and CEX Shoreditch-based development studio Project M has been awarded the title of fastest growing franchise investment model to exist in the UK. The mobile game studio – that commenced development of its innovation platform in April 2015 – soft launched the gold mining app Dig That Gold in January 2016. In an astounding 12 months, the franchise investment model has leap-frogged existent franchise heavyweights Subway and CEX.
Project M’s online portal allows investors to develop and launch an individual microcosm of virtual real estate, capitalising off a booming global gaming industry set to be worth $118.6 billion in 2019 – with mobile gaming accounting for an impressive $52.5 billion.
CEO of Project M, Sean McNicholas, commented on how Project M’s unique franchise investment model caters to the growing demand from investors to become part of the mobile game industry: “There is clear investor appetite to become involved in the booming mobile game industry. The global games market has outgrown the movie and music market combined and is now worth a staggering $93 billion. What’s more, current estimates project that mobile games are set to account for 45% of total gaming revenue by 2020.
To celebrate this nationwide first, Project M is offering one lucky gamer the opportunity to win a mine worth £25000 – identical to that of a franchisee investment – supporting him or her in the marketing and customisation of their virtual real-estate. The winner will own the mine for a year, narrating their experience of developing and monetising their virtual property throughout. The winner will be selected on the merit of their credentials within the gaming community.
Up until now, there has been a clear issue of accessibility for the general investor community who want to get involved in the mobile gaming industry, but are not entirely sure how. That’s why we have ensured that Project M provides a perfect entry-point for investors who are not traditional gamers by offering a familiar franchise investment model and a user-friendly online portal that guides investors through the business model and the steps involved in running a level.”
The Project M franchise investment model is structured in an identical manner to a traditional franchise investment that enables the acquisition of physical real estate. Investors purchase a virtual asset in the shape of one or more gold mines that are dispersed across a virtual network of islands. Investors are able to purchase different sized mines that range in pricing from £25000 to £160000. Upon purchase, the investor is given creative reign to design their mining eco-system in the most commercially viable manner possible, using new and existing social media networks to encourage customer acquisition, with no gaming experience required to invest. In-house Project M marketers and gaming consultants are on-hand to support the investors in the customisation of their respective mines, utilising paid-marketing strategies to heighten customer acquisition. Through Dig that Gold, Project M is introducing the next generation of franchise-based investment to the masses. Unlike the franchise investment opportunities commonly seen in the food and hospitality industries, investors are free from the burden of creating and running a physical space in the form of a restaurant or a hotel.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | NEWS
Experts Advise on the Privatisation of the Nice and Lyon Airports Gide Loyrette Nouel, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Allen & Overy are advising on the privatisation of the Nice and Lyon airports. On 28 July 2016, the French government announced that it had selected the prospective purchasers for its shareholdings in airport companies Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur (ACA) and Aéroports de Lyon (ADL). ACA’s capital is currently 60%-held by the State and 40% by the NiceCôte d’Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Provence-AlpesCôted’Azur Region, the Alpes-Maritimes Département and the Nice-Côte d’Azur metropolitan authorities.
a team of 20 lawyers led by Thomas Courtel (Public and Infrastructure Law) and Guillaume Rougier-Brierre (M&A), and also including Stéphane Hautbourg (Competition Law) and Foulques de Rostolan (Employment Law), partners.
ADL’s capital is also 60%-held by the State, with the remaining 40% being held by the Lyon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the AuvergneRhône-Alpes Region, the Rhône Département and the Lyon metropolitan authorities.
The consortium of Atlantia, Aeroporti di Roma and EDF (EDF Invest), prospective purchaser of the State’s shareholding in ACA, is advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, with a team led by Thierry Laloum and Amir Jahanguiri (partners) and comprising, in Paris, Anne-Laure Barel, Perrine Saunier and Gabrielle Redde for Public Law, Antoine Bouzanquet and Idama Al Saad for Financing, Gabriel Flandin (partner), Laure Pistre, Marion Bellemin, Louis Jambu-Merlin and Marie Aubard for Companies Law, David Tayar (partner), Guillaume Melot and Mathilde Ayel for Competition Law, Philippe Grudé (counsel) for Tax Law and, in Rome, Luca Leonardi (partner) and Massimo Palombi (counsel) for Companies Law, and Leonardo Fedrini for Tax Law.
These privatisations are taking place pursuant to French law no. 2015990 of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equality of economic opportunities. A call for tenders in respect of each airport was launched by the French State Investments Agency (Agence des Participations de l’Etat) on 10 March 2016. The State has designated the consortium of Atlantia, Aeroporti di Roma and EDF (EDF Invest) as the prospective purchaser of its holding in ACA’s capital. The consortium of Vinci Airports, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Predica has been designated prospective purchaser of the State’s shareholding in ADL.
The consortium of Vinci Airports, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Crédit Agricole Assurances (through its subsidiary Predica), prospective purchaser of the State’s shareholding in ADL, is advised by Allen & Overy (and by Dethomas Peltier Juvigny & Associés on competition law aspects).
The final decision regarding the disposals will be taken after full consultation with ACA’s and ADL’s works councils, and once authorised by the competent merger control and civil aviation authorities. The French State Investments Agency is advised by Gide, which has put together
Visit www.gide.com for more information.
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Assetz Capital Achieves Defaqto 5 Stars in First ‘Loan Based Crowdfunding’ Rating Assetz Capital, one of the UK’s fastest growing peer-to-peer finance platforms, announced that it received a 5 Star Rating from Defaqto in the independent financial information business’ first ‘Loan Based Crowdfunding’ analysis, with reference to investing on the platform.
It is one of only four Peer to Peer finance platforms to have achieved the highest rating awarded by Defaqto. This is independent verification that its offering is one of the best within the industry.
“Investors throughout the UK are now realising that peer-to-peer finance is a viable option for their investment portfolio. The Defaqto 5 Star Rating further cements our status as one of the few key investment platforms within a growing sector which is clearly gaining significant momentum in a low interest rate environment,” said Law
Having facilitated the investment of more than £130 million into credit-worthy UK businesses since its launch in March 2013 and the resultant £13m of gross interest before tax earned by lenders, Assetz Capital has become known for its secure investment model. Every Assetz loan is backed with property, and/or other realisable security in order to minimise the risk for investors.
Zahid Bilgrami, CEO of Defaqto, said, “Star Ratings assess the quality and comprehensiveness of the features and benefits of financial products such as insurance and protection policies, current accounts, credit cards and investment products offer.”
Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz Capital commented, “Being among only a handful of peer-to-peer platforms to be awarded a Defaqto 5 Star Rating further validates that our investment model offers investors a proven, successful and independently verified platform.”
Assetz Capital is committed to helping fill the finance gap left in the market from the credit crunch. Since its inception in March 2013, more than 14,000 investors have registered through the Assetz Capital platform to lend over £130 million to credit-worthy UK businesses. In addition to personal guarantees from directors, Assetz Capital takes asset security, including charges on property and other hard assets such as plant and equipment, to support each and every loan.
The Defaqto 5 Star Rating rates the platform from an investor’s point of view and is based on an overall product DNA scoring methodology. As well as this, Defaqto have created some core criteria without which a 5 Star Rating cannot be achieved. The core criteria are that the following 5 statements must appear on a provider’s website, either on their homepage or within two clicks of it, to receive a 5 Star Rating: • Capital is at risk and is not protected by FSCS; • Past performance does not guarantee the future; • Annualised projected return quoted after expected losses; • Why returns vary (that is access, risk, security and so on); • Historic and projected default rates.
Last September, Assetz Capital launched its third investor account - the Quick Access Account (QAA), with a Provision Fund. The account has a capped target rate of 3.75% gross per annum that can vary each month, being set at the beginning of each month based on the loans within the account. The target rate will never fall below 3.75% gross per annum. Demand from investors has been strong and has attracted over £100m of inward lender capital investments to date and facilitated immediate redemption of around £65m when required back by those investors.
Law continued, “our approach of employing a world-class credit underwriting team and taking validated and realisable security is essential for our investors’ peace of mind and security of returns. Our complete focus is ensuring the growth and security of our lenders investments, as well as the success of our borrowers’ businesses.
Investors can find out more about Assetz Capital by visiting: www.assetzcapital.co.uk/how-it-works/ Borrowers can find out more about Assetz Capital by visiting: www.assetzcapital.co.uk/borrow-introduce/contact/
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | NEWS
Busy Bees Acquires the Positive Steps Children’s Day Nursery Group Busy Bees has announced its latest acquisition of the Positive Steps Children’s Day Nursery Group, a private childcare provider with a portfolio of eight nurseries in predominantly the South East of England, which collectively offer 619 registered places for children from three months to five years. Busy Bees is the largest childcare provider in the UK which, including this acquisition, now operates 266 Nurseries. Currently Busy Bees employs and trains over 7,700 staff and provides exemplary care for over 30,000 children. As a group, Positive Steps has gained an excellent reputation for providing outstanding childcare in the South East of England, an area Busy Bees knows well and is keen to expand within.
“As you can imagine, we were very precious about who we sold the business to, and I am confident that in Busy Bees we have chosen the ideal partner to continue the Positive Steps ethos. During our recent dealings with them they have been at pains to preserve those things that have made Positive Steps so special. “The past 16 years has been an incredible journey and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. As I have always said, Positive Steps biggest asset is its teamwork – staff, parents, the management team and of course the children. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all for their contributions and wish them the very best for the future. These are exciting times and I will watch with pride as the business continues to go from strength to strength under its new owners.”
Marg Randles, Managing Director, commented: “We are delighted to welcome the Positive Steps group into the Busy Bees family. Every nursery in the portfolio is already providing exceptional outcomes for children and we are all really looking forward to working with the extremely talented teams in place. “It is an absolute pleasure to work with such experienced managers and devoted staff, all of whom will continue to play the most important role, providing quality care for the children in partnership with their families. Meanwhile we will be working very closely with the management team to ensure this transition is as seamless as possible for everyone involved.”
Gunnercooke supported Busy Bees throughout the acquisition. Its team was led by Corporate Partner Nick Ducker, who said: “Having advised Busy Bees on six acquisitions, it is wonderful to continue to support them in their further growth in the South East and we wish them well in their latest endeavour.”
“It is our promise to keep our parents informed every step of the way, as we continue to improve the excellent care, resources and services this collection of outstanding nurseries currently on offer.”
Mark Traynor, corporate partner at HRC Law, advised the vendor in this transaction. HRC Law has developed a specialism in working with day nurseries across the UK as the sector has seen a high volume of deal activity and consolidation. For further information on Busy Bees, please log on to www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk
Paul Clarke, former owner of Positive Steps Children’s Day Nursery Limited commented “After 16 years building our nursery business, we have decided that now is the right time to hand over the reins to a new custodian who can continue our good work. On 29th July we completed the sale of Positive Steps to Busy Bees.
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European High Yield is Still an Attractive Yield play, says NN Investment Partners European High Yield (HY) debt has performed quite well so far this year, with a total return of 4% for the asset class [1] over the first six months of the year. Going forward, NN IP believes European HY still represents an attractive asset class as it is well supported by the macroeconomic environment and the credit fundamentals, while also the technical picture is benign.
Valuations still offer support, says Haverkamp: “From a valuation point of view we are still comfortable with high yield, both in Europe and in the US. Valuations are not extreme and both historically and versus other asset classes, like government bonds and investment grade credits, high yield spreads still compare favourably. So without signs of any substantial credit deterioration, a decent macroeconomic backdrop, and relatively fair valuation levels, we remain constructive on high yield as an asset class.”
• Brexit is not likely to derail the positive momentum in global credit markets; • European High Yield spreads still compare favourably, while the near-term technical picture is very supportive. In addition, the yield of 4.1% compares favourably to other fixed income asset classes, particularly European government bonds or investment grade credits. NN IP expects that the Brexit vote in the UK will not affect the economic outlook significantly.
The ‘search for yield’ is clearly a dominant theme in fixed income markets. Haverkamp on the technical picture for the asset class: “An additional supportive factor in the short term is the technical picture. Both in Europe and the US, the search for yield continues. With limited new issuance expected (due to blackout periods and summer holidays), high cash levels amongst investors, conservative market positioning (as reflected in the YTD underperformance of most active managers), zero inventory at investment banks and the offer-less market of the last days, we believe that the near-term technical picture is likely to be positive for HY credit”.
Sjors Haverkamp, head of European high yield at NN Investment Partners, outlines: “While growth estimates for the European economy may be revised downward somewhat, from a fundamental point of view, we see little impact on the global economy from the Brexit outcome. Obviously, the depreciation of the pound sterling (GBP) is likely to affect companies with GBP earnings and non-GBP costs. Besides, corporate and consumer confidence in the UK will likely be impacted negatively. However, in contrast with the perception of many market participants that live and work in London, we believe that Brexit is not likely to derail the positive momentum in global credit markets, as we think the UK is simply not important enough. We do not expect a material increase in credit losses as a result of Brexit.”
In Europe, in addition, the ECB’s quantitative easing program is a supportive factor, both in terms of size and in terms of bonds eligible for the program. The inclusion of corporate debt has led to a very supportive market environment and to a further tightening of yield levels. The lack of yield on government debt, as well as the low yields on investment grade corporate debt, is forcing investors to go for lower credit quality to realize higher total return levels.”
“From a macroeconomic point of view, we see the recent job numbers in the US illustrating the resilience of the US economy. On the flip-side, we do acknowledge that continued strength in macroeconomic data comes at the risk of increasing rate hike expectations. At the same time, we think that an increase in rates should be seen as a sign of underlying economic strength and not as a threat to the high yield market.”
Wrapping it all up, Haverkamp believes European HY will continue to be able to provide attractive returns. Haverkamp about his return expectations: “We believe that barring any unexpected external events, investors can expect the asset class to return approximately 4.5% over the next twelve months. In our view, this total return represents an attractive investment opportunity.”
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | FUNDS
Brexit Silver Lining for Private Equity Investors CEPRES in August released analysis showing how dislocation between macro-economic cycles and buyout performance can lead to increased returns for smart investors. CEPRES analysed the market pricing of Financial Services companies following economic downturns and compared to investment returns of private equity investments during the same periods. The analysis showed that buyout investments exhibit increased returns versus the comparative stock markets following economic downturns.
Private equity returns are highest following market turmoil • The chart below shows financial services buyouts had strong returns in 2009 and 2012 following economic downturns when for the same years’ comparative stock markets were weak; • Regulation like Basel III, Solvency II, AIFMD combined now with Brexit creates uncertainty for financial services companies with knock-on effect to valuations; • Consequently, quality financial services companies can be undervalued creating opportunity for buyout investors; • CEPRES analysis of financial services deals proves upside for buyouts versus comparative stock markets following market turmoil.
PE.Analyzer is an online investment decision platform delivering the deepest analysis of private markets and track records to the desk of institutional investors (LPs) and fund managers (GPs). For the first time LPs and GPs can perform real technical & fundamental analysis to underwrite their decisions and prove their investment strategy. CEPRES is an innovative FinTech company helping institutional investors invest in private equity with the proficiency of Financial Markets. Investors (LPs) and fund managers (GPs) can interact on a single, confidential platform in complete privacy. LPs gain deep market insights, forecast investment outcomes and enhance due diligence to drive better investment returns. GPs can verify their track record, precisely benchmark their deals and find new sources of capital from around the world. 100’s of institutional investors have conducted due diligence on $1.7 trillion of buyout, growth, venture, private debt, infrastructure and real estate funds via the CEPRES platform. For further information, visit www.cepres.com.
Dr. Daniel Schmidt – CEO, CEPRES GmbH remarked: “With all the doom and gloom over Brexit and its impact on world markets, this could be a silver lining for PE investors in financial services companies. Smart fund managers (GPs) can take advantage of this type of market dislocation to deliver better returns to their investors (LPs).”
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | FUNDS
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Best Boutique Private Equity Investment Firm – 2016
2016 Hedge Fund Excellence Awards
Omar Farooqui is a Saudi National, and is the Founder & Managing Partner of CI Holdings & Green Sands Equity, with over 19 years of experience in the investment banking industry in the MENASA region. Omar was on the Board of Directors for Saudi Fransi Capital’s Mutual Funds (AUMs US$10 billion) and he currently serves as a Global Strategic Advisor for Saudi Fransi Capital’s international business. Omar also serves on the board of the SFC & Bin Saeedan Real Estate Development Fund (AUMs US$ 300m).
In addition, Omar sits on the Investment Committee of Arthveda Fund Management (a subsidiary of Dewan Housing Finance Limited – India’s second largest private non-banking financial institution with JVs with IFC & Prudential) as a non-executive director & is a Global Advisor to their business ex-India. Omar was also part of a start-up MENA asset manager called Algebra Capital leading the coverage of the Middle East, North Africa & Asian markets that went from start to over $2b AUM and was eventually acquired by Franklin Templeton. Previously, Omar was Vice President at Deutsche Asset Management, heading up the Deutsche Bank Asset Management venture in KSA exclusively. Omar spent the preceding 8 years at National Commercial Bank Investment Services Division (later NCB Capital, KSA). As a Fund Manager, he was responsible for managing over US$3 billion including, at the time, the world’s largest Islamic mutual fund. Omar holds a Masters in Financial Services Management from University of Surrey and a BA (double major) in Management and Marketing from the American Intercontinental University. In his current capacity as Founder & Managing Partner of Green Sands Equity, he reveals in an interview more about what the firm specialises in, and how they approach investments. Can you tell us about what your company does? Green Sands Equity is a private equity asset manager who invests strategic capital across the US, as well as the global emerging markets across technology, infrastructure real assets including income producing real estate assets, education, healthcare, and energy sectors. Green Sands is just over a year old with offices in San Francisco, Dubai and Singapore.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | FUNDS
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Can you go into detail about the specific areas that Green Sands Equity specialises in? As our shareholders, partners and LPs are diversified ranging from large family offices, to sovereign wealth funds to financial institutions and endowments our investments have a theme to them as we try also to look at impactful investments. The firm pride ourselves in providing true strategic market access to investments we back especially in slightly more challenging markets. What kind of clients do you serve and how do you approach them? Green Sands Equity serves family offices, large government & quasi government institutions, financial institutions and other asset managers, with whom we like to tie-up with and work in true partnership with. How has 2016 been so far for hedge fund managers? As Green Sands Equity are a long term asset manager, we do not look at yearly performances. 2016 overall has been a very volatile year and carried on from 2015’s oil crash and political instability, but here in also lies the opportunity, and a lot of smart hedge fund managers have also made their best bets during these times. How has your firm demonstrated that, no matter what the state of the financial market, you are still very capable of providing investors with excellent returns and top class asset management services? Despite the markets in 2015 and 2016, Greens Sands was formed during these times and our LPs are very long term thinkers. Also, the firm’s compensation is linked to their performance so we treat each investment as if it is our own and going forward as the firm grows so will the firm’s balance sheet which means the firm will deploy it in each investment we make for our LPs as well. Do you have any plans for 2016 and beyond that you would like to share with our readers? Green Sands Equity plan to launch a dedicated global opportunistic fund with a clear and visible pipeline of investments. The fund will also have co-investment opportunities for those who do not want to invest via a fund route. We do urge everyone to participate as Green Sands may not be an old firm, but the history of our partners is indeed several decades old. What role do your staff play in the successes of your firm? We have a flat structure here at Green Sands Equity, where we encourage everyone to participate, and as such the firm encourages the junior staff to also participate in board meetings and share their views. They are the building blocks of the long term of this firm. The firm may be an asset manager with global ambitions, but the staff that work here act as a true family. What challenges and opportunities does Green Sands Equity face in 2016 and beyond? The industry has had a major problem since the financial crisis of trust capital. This remains the case today, thus part of our ethos is to encourage partnership investment. Working and deploying capital together and linking compensation to success, so that everyone feels the ups and downs, makes for a true partnership.
Company: Green Sands Equity Name: Omar Farooqui (Founder & Managing Partner) Email: omar@greensandsequity.com
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A Strategy That Can Benefit from Rising Interest Rates The Tradex Group is a minority-owned alternative asset management business located in Greenwich, CT. Tradex Global Advisory Services currently manages the Tradex Relative Value strategy. We got in touch with co-founder and CIO, Jeff Kong to find out more about the firm and the strategy they manage.
How would you describe your strategy? The Tradex Relative Value Fund is an all-weather fixed income strategy that targets absolute returns. Our multi-strategy approach focuses on extracting value from mispriced securities across the structured rates and securitised mortgage universe. Utilising proprietary trading and valuation models, the strategy strives to capture consistent risk- adjusted returns in the form of carry and value accretion, while remaining market-neutral.
Tradex employs a variety of sub-strategies, each with specific asset types, trading methodologies, and risk-reward objectives. Such an approach allows the firm to dedicate capital to the best opportunities across the markets, diversify within our expertise and take advantage of dislocations when they occur, while still capturing carry and yield on a monthly basis. How do you expect declining global rates will affect your strategy, and what is the outlook for your markets? When the 10-year US Treasury becomes a destination to grab yield versus other sovereign debt, it is evident that the hyper-liquidity provided by Central Banks has driven risk premia out of many risk assets. However, spreads in the fixed income securities that we buy remain attractive with yields ranging between 4-8% in the current environment. Additionally, there are features of our strategy that can benefit from elevated volatility by targeting trading alpha in US Government bonds.
To whom is your strategy appealing? I have been managing funds for 16 years and my investors have included large institutions such as pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and fund of funds, as well as sponsorship from high-net worth clients, family offices and RIAs. We are an alternative fixed income fund that can substitute for traditional fixed income allocations while providing diversification and low correlation to traditional assets within a portfolio. However, unlike typical bond funds, we hedge to a zero-duration, thus our investors need not be overly concerned about the direction of interest rates.
Within the portfolio, Tradex runs a market-neutral book. As such, valuation changes from fluctuations in interest rates are offset by hedges. But with US Treasuries reaching historic lows, many investors have asked us how we may take advantage of rising rates. The strategy affords the ability to position for additional upside from rising rates since our core assets are positive-carry, negative-duration, and US-Government backed, offering a universally unique set of characteristics.
Tradex is currently seeking a strategic relationship with an anchor investor who would be interested in partnering with us. The team’s long-term experience in institutional-quality asset management, combined with my track record, are some of the benefits of our platform. Because many of my former investors are large institutions that make significant allocations, a strategic partner could help us tap into our pipeline and achieve the firm’s growth goals more quickly.
Combined with the historically exhibited profiles of low volatility and a low correlation to traditional asset classes, the current market conditions provide an environment where the strategy is poised to benefit from any rate path.
What is the benefit of your multi-strategy approach? At greater than $10 trillion in size, the US mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market is one of the largest fixed income asset classes that is broadly composed of pass-throughs, CMOs, CMBS and RMBS. A majority of US MBS are backed by the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, collectively called the GSEs. This market often has varying opinions on valuations, allowing for an experienced and skilful manager to extract alpha, particularly during periods of heightened volatility.
Company: The Tradex Group Name: Jeff Kong Email: investorrelations@thetradexgroup.com Web Address: www.thetradexgroup.com Address: 35 Mason Street, 4th Floor, Greenwich, Connecticut CT 06830, USA Telephone: +1 203-863-1500
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Hedge Fund Excellence
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Hedging Your Bets First established in April 2005, Stats Investment Management Co., Ltd. (“Stats”) is a hedge fund manager based in Japan. Stats specialises in managing Japanese Equity Long/Short strategies.
The flagship investment vehicle of Stats is the Ginga Service Sector (“GSS”) Fund, which is a Cayman unit trust first established in June 2006. The strategy itself largely concentrates on the IT and Service sectors as sources of alpha. In addition, it also focuses on medium and small size stocks, which are not widely covered by analysts so that original research can generate alpha unexploited by the market. These sectors are also one of the few areas that have growth potential, so we believe that it will continue to be a rich source of alpha.
G10 FX markets were primarily focused on macro event risk during June. The result of the referendum created cross asset class turbulence not seen since the financial crisis with GBP experiencing its largest ever oneday decline. Perennial market expectations from the BoJ coupled with risk aversion following the EU referendum caused USDJPY to touch 99; however, it has subsequently stabilized above 100. In spite of the average industry performance or the difficult market environment, the GSS Fund returned 3.11% during Jan – July 2016. Since its launch, the GSS Fund has performed extremely well with no negative year during its 10-year track record and achieved a net accumulated return of 285% for its Yen share class. This is a strong proof that the GSS strategy can effectively generate superior returns in various market environments and market cycles.
Stats’ CIO Toru Hashizume is one of Stat’s founding members. Prior to joining Stats, he worked as an sell side analyst more than 8 years with one of the major research institute in Japan and specialized in the IT and Service sectors. After this starting career, he moved to one of the largest mutual fund companies in Japan and managed its flagship long only Japanese equity fund with 3 billion dollar asset for more than 7 years. He joined Stats in 2006 and started the long short strategy with innovatively new risk management. Working with CIO is the fund manager, Yhu Kuni, who has worked with Toru more than 10 years since inception of the fund. Stats’ investment philosophy is to base its investment decision on corporate research, and for this purpose the fund managers make rigorous company visits, which amounts to 400 companies per year per person, and as a team they visit more than 1000 companies per year. Being based in Tokyo is a great advantage in managing Japanese equities to fulfil this purpose. Other Key strength of our portfolio management is based on risk management on both individual stock level as well as asset liability approach in long and short positions. The skill of risk management is one of the main key sources that contributed to our 10 year consecutive positive return with stable and high sharp ratio. Currently Stats manages near $250 million in assets under the GSS, and its client base is spread across various regions and various investor types globally.
Heading forward to the remainder of 2016 and beyond, Stats is now considering to open new fund raising channels such as U.S. feeder fund. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the investors who have invested with us up to date, and we hope that our new initiatives will open the gate to investors who had interest in us but could not invest in GSS due to various limitations.
“June will be remembered for the historic events that shook financial markets after the British public voted to exit their membership of the European Union.”
2016 like any other year has been a challenging period for hedge fund managers but Asia Hedge Funds have demonstrated their resilience during June, returning 0.15% in a month filled with pivotal macroeconomic events. At the mid-year point the median return is -1.11% based on the data set of our Prime Broker. Japan focused funds also experienced a difficult investment environment, returning -0.89% following the sharp declines of the major equity indices. European and US Hedge Funds returned -1.57% and 0.16% in June with the YTD performance standing at -2.88% and 1.91% respectively.
In regards to the challenges facing us in the future, the market is expected to be volatile in a thin market. Since the GSS strategy works best in a highly liquid and fundamentally driven environment, we expect that the market environment will continue to be challenging for our strategy. However, as Stats has done so successfully in the past, we will continue our efforts to generate superior returns even in a challenging environment.
June will be remembered for the historic events that shook financial markets after the British public voted to exit their membership of the European Union. Risk indicators rose dramatically, such as the VIX jumping by over 13 vol points midmonth, the DXY appreciating 3.2%, and gold price rallying over 8%.
Company: Stats Investment Management Co., Ltd. Name: Masahiko Iwai Email: miwai@stats.co.jp Web Address: www.stats.co.jp Address: COI Hirakawa-Cho Bldg. 7F, 1-7-20 Hirakawa-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 102-0093 Japan Telephone: +81 3 6658 4361
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Best for Mutual Funds - USA & Best Alternative Fixed Income Fund: Arrow Alternative Solutions Fund
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Arrow Investment Advisors, through its companies Arrow Funds and Arrow Shares, provides a range of investment solutions designed to help clients meet their financial goals. We interviewed CEO and Director of Investment Strategy Joseph Barrato, who provides us with a unique insight into the firm and its award winning funds. AI16033 20
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Arrow Investment Advisors is dedicated to creating value for its shareholders by offering investments strategies that are portfolio diversifiers, and encouraging investors to allocate beyond traditional domestic equity and fixed income instruments. Joseph outlines the firm’s history and how it came to identify its innovative approach.
managing it effectively and subsequently may outperform in rising rate environments but underperform when the stock market underperforms. This has been a major issue for advisors allocating to non-traditional bond funds as they expect all of their bond funds to hold up and provide diversification when the stock market is underperforming and most non-traditional bond funds have not done this due to the equity like risk (HY bonds etc.) they have in the portfolio.
“Ten years ago, my colleagues and I founded Arrow Funds with the intention of making institutional-style investments more accessible for financial advisors and their clients. We believe that every investor should have at their disposal the same types of tools and investment solutions that institutions have long-used to mitigate risk and enhance returns.
“ASFNX has the ability to outperform in both rising rate and negative equity market environments as it actively manages the credit risk or HY bond exposure and has a treasury model that diversifies the portfolio, providing a potential source of positive returns during negative equity and HY Bond market environments. The returns it has had over the last few years have helped to back up these statements, while most non-traditional bond funds have struggled ASFNX has outperformed. At the end of the 1st quarter, the ASFNX was outperforming 99% of the funds in the non-traditional bond category and 89% of all the U.S. fixed income products (mutual funds) over the last two years.”
“Today, those same principals are key to our firm, and as such we look to provide unique investment products that help investors build portfolios that can adapt to changing market conditions, and we place an emphasis on offering alternatives and non-traditional investments in the form of mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) to make this possible. During the last decade, the firm has grown from a single mutual fund provider to a diversified asset management firm offering a range of tactical and alternative oriented mutual funds and ETFs, including indexed and smart beta solutions, alternative fixed income, global equity, yield, managed futures and commodity strategies.
Alongside ASFNX, the firm also offer a range of additional funds, all of which, Joseph asserts, take an approach to risk management unheard of in the wider investment market.
“We have also developed several “smart beta” factor based investment strategies: diversified momentum, tactical global macro, global high yield, multi factor equity, long dated commodity, dynamic bond solution and a legendary high volatility futures strategy.
“Here at Arrow Funds, we also offer a range of additional investment solutions beyond ASFNX, including: Arrow DWA Balanced Fund, Arrow DWA Tactical Fund, Arrow Managed Futures Strategy Fund and Arrow Commodity Strategy Fund. All of these mutual funds have an alternative investment element that differentiates them from their peers within each respective fund category. Our DWA funds, for instance, use the technical analysis expertise of Dorsey Wright & Associates to provide investment strategies based on relative strength and momentum. Both of these mutual funds are designed to adapt to changing market conditions. In our managed futures fund, we offer first-time mutual fund access to CTA legend DUNN Capital Management. Our Commodity Fund is unique in its approach through the use of long-dated futures contracts to provide broad-based commodities exposure.
“Our factor based strategies are typically cost effective, transparent and not affected by human emotion because they are based on quantitative models. We believe that Arrow has something to offer every portfolio, and that blending our investment strategies with traditional investments can help give investors the chance to create a portfolio that performs like endowments; securing higher returns at a lower risk.” The Arrow Alternative Solutions Fund (ASFNX), which has been recognised by the Wealth & Finance Alternative Investment Awards as the ‘Best Alternative Fixed Income Fund’, provides a unique alternative to traditional bond funds. ASFNX seeks capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute returns, low volatility and low correlation to traditional equity and fixed income markets. From a performance perspective, the fund is ranked in the top 1% of its peer group for the past year. Joseph explains what he believes are the secrets to the fund’s success.
“In addition, we also offer three exchange traded funds (ETFs): The Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (GYLD), the Arrow DWA Tactical ETF (DWAT) and the Arrow QVM Equity Factor ETF (QVM). GYLD provides a global, multi-asset approach to yield that includes exposure to alternatives like Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). Similarly, to Arrow’s DWA mutual funds, the Arrow DWA Tactical ETF leverages Dorsey Wright’s proprietary relative strength momentum models to select its holdings. Meanwhile, QVM offers a Tri-factor™ approach to equity investing that entails selecting those securities that simultaneously demonstrate strong quality, value and momentum metrics. The methodology behind the QVM tapped into the expertise and experience of Ford Equity Research. Ford Equity has over 40 years of proprietary research on equity factors.
“We believe the fund’s success is largely due to the dynamic approach its investment strategy takes toward trading high yield, government bonds and credit default instruments. Depending on proprietary indicators that are customized for each specific market segment, the fund is designed to provide long or flat High Yield exposure: long, flat or short Credit Default exposure; and long, flat or short Government Bond exposure. Each of these three underlying strategies has the ability to act independently from one another, adding an additional element of diversification to the fund. Performance has been strong, and we are seeing heightened interest in this alternative fixed income fund. In essence, ASFNX often acts like a traditional bond fund when fixed income markets are going well, but can become tactically hedged and even seek profits during downward market moves.
“When it comes to delivering returns and managing risk, each of our mutual funds and ETFs is unique in its investment methodology. As a firm, however, we strive to deliver investments products that can help reduce risk and enhance returns as part of an overall, diversified investment portfolio.” Within the wider investment industry as a whole Joseph explains how the vast choice clients enjoy has had an effect on both Arrow and the market as a whole.
“Two years ago this product was moved into the non-traditional bond category. Most non-traditional bond funds take on more credit risk without
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“Here at Arrow Investment Advisors we are extremely committed to providing investors with education and timely research to help them make informed investment decisions.�
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“Investors today have more options than ever before. It used to be the case that unless you were a high-net worth or institutional investor you were pretty much limited to a stock and bond portfolio. The finance industry has evolved to address investors’ needs in a much more comprehensive way, providing financial advisors and their clients with access to alternatives and tactical investment strategies like managed futures, hedge fund replication strategies, smart beta equity strategies and more. At Arrow Funds we see ourselves as helping to push the industry along to better meet investors’ needs. We have been successful by packaging tactical and alternative investments in retail-friendly product structures like mutual funds and ETFs that provide enhanced liquidity, affordability and convenience for investors.
“Here at Arrow Investment Advisors we are extremely committed to providing investors with education and timely research to help them make informed investment decisions. This is a key focus for our business, and therefore we have a dedicated research arm—Arrow Investment Insights—which publishes regular commentary and a quarterly newsletter. “Education is also a big part of our marketing and investor communication efforts. We use our website and marketing emails to promote investor education, and have made a diverse line-up of educational collateral available on-line including pieces that explore yield, absolute returns, alternatives, commodities and other topical investing topics. For example, in 2008 we created a piece about equity Market Turns. In 2013 we started to educate the market about Relative Strength Turns. Both were powerful and timely opportunities for those that were brave enough to act.
“While the industry has evolved to provide investors with more options, the road to getting investors to embrace non-traditional investments has not been a smooth one. During the financial crisis of 2008, the market environment called into question whether or not some of these alternatives really do have the ability to help manage risk and provide diversified sources of returns for investors. For instance, many mutual funds that were marketed as “absolute return” strategies fell short of investor expectations. What’s more—stocks bounced back in a big way in recent years, leading many to question the need for alternatives in the first place. During a bullish market it is easy to forget the lessons of the past and give into the temptation to go all-in on equities.
“Today the key topic of discussion is the commodity market turning. As with every investment product, commodities have historically gone in and out of favor. When they are in a prolonged period of delivering negative returns, at some point investors begin to wonder when they may begin to make a new upward turn. Many wait until the market has already gone up before they buy, and then panic when the market drops and sell when prices are low. Unfortunately, this investor behavior erodes returns on even the best-performing assets. We create these educational pieces to raise awareness with the hope of helping improve some of this investor behavior.”
“As a firm we have had to respond to these challenges by conducting a thorough review of our product line-up, making enhancements as needed and placing a renewed emphasis on providing investor education surrounding the importance of incorporating tactical and alternative strategies into an investment portfolio. In a way we view alternatives much like we view insurance policies. The right time to be incorporating them into your portfolio is not when the stock market is tanking and you are looking for diversification. It’s more prudent to have an overall asset allocation plan in place ahead of time that incorporates diversified assets and investment strategies.
Moving forward, Joseph stated that the firm was keen to continue offering innovative investment solutions to clients, levering the relationships it has made in the wider industry to ensure investors receive the best value. “Looking to the future, we are always looking to bring value to our financial advisor clients, and one of the ways we do that is by partnering with other firms in the industry who have a well-defined skill set or area of expertise that is synergistic to Arrow’s capabilities and value proposition. For example, we have formed tremendous partnerships with firms such as DUNN Capital Management (managed futures), Dorsey Wright (Technical Analysis), Ford Equity Research (smart-beta) and others to offer our clients access to unique investment strategies. We are experts in our field and our boutique nature enables us to be nimble and look for unique ways to bring value to our clients—whether through industry partnerships or through advisor-focused product development research and expertise.
“Therefore, as tactical and alternative investments continue to gain traction among financial advisors and their investor clients, many firms are beginning to look at ways to develop non-traditional mutual funds and ETFs. However, making institutional-style investments mainstream is part of our DNA at Arrow. Prior to founding the firm in 2006, my colleagues and I led product development for Rydex Investments (now part of Guggenheim). An industry innovator in leveraged/inverse mutual funds, Rydex also helped pioneer an industry push to package alternative assets and investment strategies in retail-friendly, ’40 Act mutual funds and ETF product structures. We played a crucial role in helping Rydex develop 40 investment vehicles to include many industry-firsts such as the first equally-weighted ETF (RSP), the first currency-based exchange traded products (CurrencyShares) and the first managed futures mutual fund.
“As a boutique asset management firm we can be nimble and explore opportunities with a true focus on meeting financial advisors’ needs and delivering products that are differentiated in the market place. Look out for Arrow as we continue to build partnerships that benefit our clients.”
Company: Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC (Arrow Funds and ArrowShares) Name: Joseph Barrato, CEO and Director of Investment Strategy Email: jbarrato@arrowfunds.com Web: www.arrowfunds.com and www.arrowshares.com
“At Arrow we have continued to build on our team’s legacy of innovation by delivering unique equity, managed futures, commodity, hedge fund replication and alternative income strategies to our clients. We have also been instrumental to the industry’s first MLP-based ETF by serving as the subadvisor for Alerian’s AMLP which grew to more than $1 billion in assets during its first year.” Ultimately, Joseph was keen to emphasise the firm’s dedication to educating and supporting clients. By helping them to manage their portfolios in an educated way they are aiding both the clients and the wider investment industry.
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Best Wealth Management Advisory Services - Singapore Fund Manager Elite 2016
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Globaleye Pte Ltd is an independently-owned firm of private wealth managers who provide unbiased business solutions to both corporate and private clients. Our expertise in international financial planning has made us the first choice for over 15,000 clients worldwide. Furthermore, the firm’s Wealth Managers are qualified and trained to international standards to ensure the clients are provided with the best advice and service at all levels.
Since the Company is not a tied agency, no Bank, Life or Investment Company influences the solutions we offer. This provides added value for our clients and a truly unbiased approach in creating tailored financial solutions. I am a great believer in independent financial advice and ‘independent’ means you select whatever investments and solutions you think are right for your clients.
As a result of the firm’s experience and expertise, we have consistently grown from strength to strength. Globaleye was created in 1999, and now has offices in Dubai (headquarters), Doha, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, to name a few. The firm’s staff are typically very experienced with proven track records in their fields of expertise. Globaleye Pte Ltd prides itself on the firm’s multicultural approach employing people from various nationalities. This ensures that we have both the language and specific knowledge to ensure the clients receive specific and tailored advice.
Therefore, the firm’s mission is to provide a personalised service for the clients to match their unique needs. Since Globaleye Pte Ltd has terms with some of the largest financial institutions in the world, the firm’s due diligence and procedures have to be of the very highest level.
In terms of my background, I have been working closely with international private clients for 18 years, and have become known for my frank, honest and transparent approach. I make sure that every single client receives the best and right advice.
“Globaleye Pte Ltd believes that all of these attributes combined have allowed us to become the successful company we are today. Ultimately, we believe that being recognised by Wealth & Finance International is a further testament to the firm’s success, and will motivate to build upon it in the future.”
Committed to both personal and professional development and fully qualified through internationally recognised financial planning exams, I currently hold the Associate Wealth Planner Status en route to full Certified Financial Planner accreditation (CFP). Furthermore, I have a dedicated team of five people supporting me and my clients, where Globaleye Pte Ltd works in tandem to achieve consistently stellar results. Added to this expertise, I have been living in Singapore for 16 years, and believe this has really helped me in terms of giving a more in-depth insight into the financial dynamics of this region. Globaleye’s clients in Singapore are predominately expatriates, although we tend to call them international investors these days because ‘expatriate’ seems to summon up this imagery of a Caucasian guy from Europe, America or Australia. Moreover, the company also caters to Singaporeans and other Asian nationals who usually have an international exposure.
To truly make a difference to my clients’ lives, I need to fully understand what they are trying to achieve. The first thing I do is get to know them, and understand their values in order to help them identify their personal goals. I am always asking myself the question ‘‘How can we help them get from where they are to where they want to be?’’.
Globaleye Pte Ltd believes that all of these attributes combined have allowed us to become the successful company we are today. Ultimately, we believe that being recognised by Wealth & Finance International is a further testament to the firm’s success, and we remain motivated to build upon this success both in Singapore and our offices across the world.
As such, Globaleye Pte Ltd has become the forerunner for being innovative and cultivating a client focused approach. The firm’s wealth managers maintain an ongoing relationship with the clients as their financial strategy develops and as their life cycle changes.
Company: Globaleye Pte Ltd Name: Byron Murphy Email: bmurphy@globaleye.sg Web Address: www.globaleye.sg Address: 2 Battery Road, #26-01, Maybank Tower, Singapore 049907 Telephone: +65 9828 5734 / +65 6632 8370
The firm’s unique online services in particular our Globaleye Bulletin Service (GBS) has proved invaluable to the firm’s subscribers in that it keeps them abreast of developments that may affect them. Similarly, the Globaleye Portfolio Service (GPS) provides a monthly report on the progress of your financial plans delivered straight to your inbox. These services, coupled with ongoing global market commentaries, seminars and a holistic library of financial products, serves to keep the clients up to speed with any economic developments that could affect their financial planning.
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A One Stop Shop Service
“It is a cliché, but we try to see all challenges as opportunities” One of the Most Successful Offshore Businesses 2016
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DeMontford Bell is a highly renowned financial services introducer. Over the years, this company has built up a global network of financial services providers, including banks, law firms, accountants and company formation agents. Furthermore, because it sends lots of work to its network, DeMontford Bell has agreed special discounts and expedited timescales. This means that by working with DeMontford Bell, their clients get a one-stop-shop for all their financial services needs, a better price than if they want a direct and faster turnaround time. In an interview with Thomas Jackson LLB, he reveals the remarkable variety of services provided by DeMontford Bell, and his thoughts on the introduction of the PSC (Persons with Significant Control) regime. Can you tell us about what your company does? The main services DeMontford Bell provide are: company formation, nominee directors, yacht registration and obtaining licences (for banks, payment service providers, e-commerce companies, online gaming companies, investment funds, fund managers, and so on).
Control) regime in the UK – from now on the true and ultimate owner of all UK corps will be searchable online. In the short term, we will see a mass exodus of British business (much of it totally non-compliant). Remember that most UK companies were registered anonymously online, without providing any due diligence and have never paid any taxes or VAT anywhere. All of this business, to which Britain historically turned a blind-eye, is going to be swept clean by the PSC regime. Much of the good business is likely to be moped up by Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. The rest will try to find a home where it can, in less well-regulated countries, or will seek to reposition itself to become compliant.
The firm provide these services all around the world and, unlike most competitors, we are totally independent and non-partisan in respect of choice of service provider, choice of best solution and choice of country. DeMontford Bell Ltd was formed as a limited company in 2013 but the entities have been trading under a partnership since 2001. We are based in Hong Kong, but we are represented in every major onshore and offshore financial services destination around the world. We have team members available for client meetings in London, Luxembourg, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Cyprus, Malta, Latvia, Isle of Man, Amsterdam, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In the medium term, we hope to see a return of compliant business to the UK, especially if the country moves to cut corporate tax rates. This depends of course on the success of the UK’s international negotiations following Brexit. Can you tell us about any specific industry based challenges you are facing now and in the future? The introduction of the PSC (Persons with Significant Control) regime will require all true and ultimate owners of UK companies to be disclosed on a public online register. Britain is the first country in the world to introduce such a scheme, but it seems likely that other countries will follow suit.
Can you go into detail about the areas your company specialises in? DeMontford Bell forms companies in most countries around the world. To support these companies, DeMontford Bell offers banking services including card payment (acquiring services), opening bank accounts (personal and corporate) opening merchant accounts (MIDs). It also provides nominee directors, shareholders and secretaries as well as non-executive directors and other business incubation services (provision of local staff, offices, assistance with change of domicile and so on). Our accounting support service includes the preparation of financial statements and audit, compliance with local taxes, VAT registration and returns as well as payroll. We also form and support trusts and foundations.
DeMontford Bell are fortunate as a firm in that all of our structures were already PSC compliant, so aside from some clients with legitimate concerns about privacy, our existing customers face no onerous challenges in 2016 from this particular regime. The financial services industry has received a tremendous amount of negative attention following the Panama Papers leak, much of this attention is undeserved. As always we will face challenges from prejudice against the industry as a whole, rather than the bad eggs like Panama.
DeMontford Bell offer regulatory support to companies wanting to trade in areas where a government licence is required. We can obtain authorisation for business in almost every sector including eGaming companies, funds, fund managers, payment service providers (PSPs) and eMoney operators. We offer everything from assistance with completing paperwork to a full turn-key regulatory solution including compliance with all local requirements (such as recruitment and infrastructure).
Do you have any further remarks to make? Please feel free to get in touch by emails to enquiries@demontfordbell. com or add us on Skype (DeMontford Bell). All conversations are totally confidential and free.
What challenges lie ahead in 2016 for your firm? It is a cliché, but we try to see all challenges as opportunities. Almost every crisis will create inertia in the industry, which generates a need for financial services work. It is especially beneficial when this inertia encourages companies to become more transparent and compliant.
Company: DeMontford Bell Ltd Name: Thomas Jackson LLB (Hons) Email: enquiries@demontfordbell.com Web Address: www.demontfordbell.com Address: 15th Floor, Hillier Commercial Building, 65-67 Bonham Strand, Hong Kong Telephone: 0044 20 3287 9997
The big “crisotunities” of 2016 and the coming few years will centre around the fallout from Brexit and the new PSC (Person with Significant
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Money Management Awards
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PKF Malta - Local Expertise - Global Reach PKF Malta is a fast growing, progressive firm that will meet the technical standards that your organisation expects. As a member of PKF International, we provide accounting and business advisory services to their prestigious clients. The firm was founded by George M. Mangion with the help of the other partners in 1995. As a member of PKF International, we provide services to a list of prestigious clients and have always enjoyed an excellent reputation which stems from our dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm to serve our clients. Our credentials are well valued by the Government and its departments, in particular, the Inland Revenue, the VAT Department, the Malta Chamber of Commerce as well as the commercial sector in general. PKF International is, a network of independent firms of accountants and business advisors with more than 440 offices in over 125 countries. Presently, PKF Malta also includes a number of professionals and graduates in accounts, economics, law and finance, with the support of a small but dedicated administrative staff team.
Team leaders and staff are familiar with the objectives and specific requirements of every task that is undertaken to ensure that deadlines are met. We understand that rigorous risk assessment is at the heart of our methodology and is reflected in how we plan and conduct the fieldwork. This lead to audit reports which are fully and transparently corroborated with evidence and capable of withstanding challenge from auditees or external authorities. We deliver in a way that causes minimal disruption, so that you can continue to focus on your regular activities. At all times you can keep up to date while knowing that your business is in safe hands. Auditing is the main activity of our firm and consists in operation of company financial audit and tax consultancy in compliance with the company development trends. We also provide full nominee and fiduciary work via our licensed company PKF Fiduciary International Limited. The firm assists the client in everyday operations providing updates of law changes, as well as advice in the IFRS area. The assistance includes international tax planning, formation of International trading companies & international holding companies, specialising in international betting operations, and applying for Aviation AOC Licences. In regards to the other kind of services we offer they include due diligence and valuations, management buy-outs and raising finance.
Our team includes qualified staff in management, auditing, accounts, statistics, mathematics, operations research, insurance, marketing, law and international relations. PKF Malta is tailored to tackle particular characteristics and the complexity of any assignment. When you engage PKF Malta, you can be confident that the work will be carried out by dedicated experienced professionals. We know the importance of having teams who specialise in their service area and who have real sector experience. Each team is led by a partner or leader who will deal with you directly and be your regular point of contact, so you can get progress updates with a single phone call. Timely delivery will be on our primary objectives. Whatever project we undertake we try to avoid or mitigate delays wherever it is in our power to do so.
The Company has an insurance team providing specialised services to the insurance industry. Licensed by the MFSA as an approved auditor in carrying out external audits to insurance companies and insurance intermediary companies. It works closely with specialised service providers within the local industry to cater for client’s needs including set-up arrangements. Being an integrated member firm of PKF International, it also works closely with foreign offices to deliver specialised technical solutions to the local insurance industry.
PKF Malta recognise that business issues are not always easy to define and may not fit neatly within a single category. This is where PKF’s holistic approach becomes most valuable. The wide range of services we offer is only a starting point, not an exclusive list. We prefer to ask you what you want to achieve, and then help you to achieve it by drawing on whichever lines of our expertise are appropriate. Teams in different service areas are accustomed to working together to solve problems, complementing one another’s skills to provide one integrated service. Our core values are passion, team work, clarity, quality and integrity.
At PKF Malta we have a team of trained and experienced accountants who can visit the client’s premises on a regular basis to update financial records and prepare payroll, periodical management accounts and cash flow forecasts as required. Our general practice department offers accounting services on a regular basis and looks after secretarial matters. We handle payrolls, VAT returns, regulatory fees and all other areas of the accounting function and deliver monthly reports, annual financial statements and taxation reports.
We believe in giving teams the same encouragement as the individuals within them. We pursue a philosophy of shared responsibility and shared success. We encourage exceptional talented individuals, but exceptional teamwork is what makes us stand out. Our culture of mutual support creates the positive atmosphere that clients experience when they work with us. It also means that the quality of our work does not depend on a handful of key individuals and strengthens rather than diminishes over time.
In regards to our consultancy offering we analyse and evaluate companies in relation to their industry and business environment and assist you in developing long-term strategies and systems to help you build your business. Our consultancy focuses on business planning, cash management, coasting systems, production and stock management and project appraisals.
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We have also provided a number of feasibility studies and cost benefit analysis to different government entities and has also undertaken research out of its own initiative. Examples of consultancy services provided through feasibility studies, include reports issued for the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security, Ministry for Tourism, Transport Malta and Karen Grech Hospital. PKF Malta with the support of FinanceMalta, Bee Insurance Management and a line of esteemed speakers, hosted a Captives event in New York on the 29th of March 2016. This event was one of a series of events in the PKF Malta calendar in the aim of promoting Malta as a domicile of choice for captives. This insurance summit had the aim of encouraging US Companies to host their European Captives in Malta, what it entails, how to survive FACTA and SRS, what they should look out for and finally what the advantages would be for them to consider Malta. This event was well received and attracted a gathering of insurance consultants, insurance managers and service providers in the field. The event served as a catalyst in having Malta in the equation, when the likes of insurance mangers propose domicile choices for their multinational clients. This was the first initiative of its kind organised by a Maltese contingent in New York as a Malta specific event. We are pleased that the event created interest from large captive managers the likes of AON, JLT Marsh and R & Q. In attendance were industry service providers providing technology solutions to the likes of Verisk Insurance Solutions, Intra links and Rante. The momentum generated by the first event, encouraged us to continue our efforts in promoting Malta as a domicile of choice for European Captives. As a company, PKF Malta think it is important to maintain momentum and so we decided to attend a Captive Owners summit organised by Captive Review in New York. FinanceMalta being at the forefront to stimulate investment concerns this initiative helps Malta remain a compelling proposition for prospective investors seeking to establish or extend their footprint in Europe. The New York Captive Owners summit is a highly exclusive learning and networking event tailored for captive America’s leading captive owners. Here at PKF Malta, we endeavour to provide our clients with the right combination of skills, experience, statistical methodologies and programmes to deliver the assurance and support their need. We are committed to providing client service of the highest standard. Professional staff proposed for respective projects are closely involved throughout the work process and provide a main source of continuity. A number of key experts enable delivery of all the objectives in a timely manner. Looking ahead to the future, the aftermath of the BREXIT and possible ramifications this will have on the insurance market is an unravelling phenomenon and one we will need to look out for. However, it is early days to speculate how this can effect Malta and other EU members. The trend at industry level is already beginning to demonstrate this, with the likes of companies in Gibraltar, being a dependent territory of the UK, seeking alternative domiciles, to ready themselves on possibly losing EU passporting rights. Nonetheless it is still an early stage and until or if Britain invokes Article 50, events are impossible to predict for certain.
Company: PKF International Name: George Mangion Email: gmm@pkfmalta.com Web Address: www.pkfmalta.com Address: PKF Malta, 35 Mannarino Road, Birkirkara, BKR 9080, Malta Telephone: : +356 21484373 31
Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
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Investing in the EU: Is it Safe Post-Brexit? Brexit certainly sent shockwaves through the world economy. A decision that very few people expected, Brexit certainly had quite large ramifications. However, more than a month on, the dust is now certainly setting, which allows us to assess the post-Brexit landscape. So, with this in mind, is investing in the EU post-Brexit safe? And how can you protect yourself? In this article, we take a look at how the markets reacted to the announcement and whether you should invest.
Immediately, Markets Tanked but is this the Best Time to Sell? There is s no way to sugar-coat this, the market went into absolute panic and meltdown immediately after the news of a Brexit broke. As such, those who owned stocks and shares became incredibly tetchy, panicking and fleeing the markets in an attempt to minimise losses. As a result, on the Friday and Monday following Brexit, US stocks lost $1.4 trillion. The FTSE fell by almost 10%, and the pound fell to $1.28, the lowest level since the 1980s.
Think of the Long Term – Although volatility can allow you to gain money in seconds, you can lose it all, too. Instead of cashing out when the going gets tough, consider long term investments where you can ride out the volatility and be confident that you will be better off in three to five years. Not every trade has to be a ‘quick win’. Do not Follow the Crowd – In times of uncertainty, it can be easy to adopt a herd mentality and follow the crowds. However, this breeds volatility and could lead to you making a decision you will later regret. Instead, stick with your trading strategy. After all, it is got you this far.
However, although these numbers are definitely incredibly bad, it is also important to not get lost in short-termism. Nobody predicted the Brexit result, which means that there is very little point discussing how many people could have sold before the decision was announced. Almost all analysts as well as pollsters and betting markets were confidently a remain vote, so for many, a bounce was expected on Friday morning, rather than devastating losses.
“the Stoxx 600 made up almost all of the 11% that it lost post-Brexit and the FTSE 100, which reached staggering depths, almost recovered to a yearly high.”
Rebounds for Those That Held Their Positions Although the losses were certainly dramatic, those who did not panic were rewarded on subsequent days when stocks rebounded almost as quickly as they fell. For example, the Stoxx 600, a Europe-wide index, made up almost all of the 11% that it lost post-Brexit and the FTSE 100, which reached staggering depths, almost recovered to a yearly high.
Monitor Markets More Closely than Ever Before – Economic indicators can give you more information than ever before at times like this, so monitor the calendar closely. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the EU itself will all be making announcements, and simply monitoring an economic calendar, such as the one offered by Hantec, can make sure you are abreast of them.
Is it Safe to Invest? As such, although there was still a great amount of uncertainty, opportunities to trade arose. In an increasingly globalised world, many traders remain understandably worried about Britain leaving the EU, breaking the cycle and sending shockwaves. However, opportunities are still present, and investing in the EU is far from unsafe, as the above gains show. So, with this in mind, what trading strategies can you adopt to help navigate the volatility and ensure that you can make money in these uncertain times?
To conclude, although losses were huge in the markets following Brexit, many large recoveries have since been made. As such, investing is dangerous but not impossible. Follow these trading tips, and you could make money from the volatility.
Go Small – Although opportunities are arising, volatility breeds uncertainty, and this can lead to large market movements. As such, be cautious with your investment decisions and really consider the amount that you invest. Trading smaller amounts may lead to lower profits, but it can also help safeguard you from big movements and prevent you from being wiped out.
Name: Ben Barlow, UMS Freelance Writer Email: benbhg1@gmail.com
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
The Death Knell for Savers Data from Moneyfacts.co.uk can reveal that rate reductions in the savings market have now outweighed rate rises for ten consecutive months. In July, Moneyfacts recorded 16 savings rate rises. Disappointingly, rate reductions over the same period completely outshone this figure, with the number of rate decreases standing at a staggering 154, with some deals falling by as much as 1.00%. While this is certainly bleak news, at least savers’ precious funds won’t be greatly affected by inflation: inflation statistics released today show that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose from 0.5% to 0.6% during July, which means savers have little to worry about in terms of savings erosion. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the 727 savings accounts currently on the market (501) can beat or match inflation, and of these 462 * (59 no notice, 41 notice, 199 fixed rate bonds and 163 cash ISAs) are without restrictive criteria.
They are also seeing some of the best deals being withdrawn altogether, with 16 top ten deals withdrawn in July, which will mean the punishment of low rates is unlikely to cease for some time.
Charlotte Nelson, Finance Expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “The month of July saw many providers prepare for the Bank of England’s announcement, with savings accounts sent freewheeling ever lower. In fact, for every one rate increase in July there were ten rate cuts.
“Two years ago the top paying easy access account paid 1.50%, but today’s saver will need to fix for a whole year to achieve that rate. With providers no longer needing savers’ funds, the life of the cash saver has just got even harder, so anyone looking to get a decent return on their savings will need to act fast and soon.”
“The effect of these rates cuts means that savers are facing all-time lows once again. For example, the average two-year fixed rate bond has fallen from 1.78% to 1.22% in just one year and the average easy access ISA has fallen by 1.11% to 0.90% in the same period.
“Savers are now facing a lethal combination of low SWAP rates, an ongoing rate cut war and now the recent Bank of England rate cut to 0.25%.
Web Address: http://moneyfacts.co.uk/
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A Minority-Owned Asset Manager
Tradex Relative Value Fund
Market-Neutral Fixed Income Strategy
Greenwich, CT
www.thetradexgroup.com
Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
2016 Investment Elite
“We dare to take unorthodox views supported by fundamental facts, we resist the temptation to seek short-term returns, and we do investigative research leading to original ideas and robust valuation.� 1607LB55 36
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The Growth of a Pioneer Homegrown Boutique APS Asset Management was founded in 1995 by its CIO, Wong Kok Hoi, in Singapore. The firm, one of the pioneer homegrown boutiques, has grown significantly since. It started with assets under management of about $15 million, which has since grown to $2.8 billion as of August 2016. APS began its life with seven staff in one office, but they have now expanded to 65 staff and six offices worldwide.
Therefore, rather than forecasting macroeconomic events or stock indexes, our focus remains on the portfolio’s fundamentals. Throughout APS Asset Management’s 21-year history, we have employed the same primary bottom-up investment work, which has safeguarded our portfolios through numerous periods of market madness. Based on this experience, we are confident that our investment approach puts us in good stead to benefit from the market’s eventual return to sanity and fundamentals.
With offices located in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo and New York, APS Asset Management are a fully independent and employee-owned fund management firm offering investment management services to global institutional asset owners and qualified investors. About 80% of the firm’s assets under management is entrusted by pensions, endowments and foundations as well as financial intermediaries including funds of funds, private wealth managers and family offices based in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific.
On the other hand, APS Asset Management’s strategy does not do well during periods of market euphoria, often characterised by investors chasing index stocks without regard for company fundamentals. For example, in late 2014, there was frenzied buying in China A shares after the stimulus, led by brokers and retail investors. Under such conditions, we could likely underperform the index in the short term.
Over the years, APS has received recognitions and awards such as ‘Most Consistent Asian L/S Fund: APS Asia Pacific Long Short Fund’ and ‘Best Long/Short Asset Manager—Singapore’ from the AI Hedge Fund 2016 Award; ‘Best Singapore-based Hedge Fund: APS Asia Pacific Long Short Fun’” by Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Awards 2016;’Top Performing Hedge Fund in 2015: APS Greater China Long Short Fund’ by Preqin Global Hedge Fund Report; among others.
However, at APS Asset Management, we do not buy just because other investors are doing so, and we believe this discipline is important for long-term success in investing in Asia, which is observable through our long-term track record. Several macroeconomic events could cause short-term volatility, including but not limited to Eurozone policy, oil and commodity prices, interest rates and global political environments but our focus remains on corporate fundamentals.
The firm’s consistent long-term performance lies in its investment approach and discipline. We dare to take unorthodox views supported by fundamental facts, we resist the temptation to seek short-term returns, and we do investigative research leading to original ideas and robust valuation.
Overall, APS Asset Management are a boutique equipped with the full institutional infrastructure required of an asset manager serving global institutions. We have fully staffed in-house teams for investment, compliance, risk management, equity trading, investment administration, client services, sales and marketing as well as corporate functions such as finance, information technology and human resources.
We also identify new trends early, and are disciplined in everything we do. APS Asset Management also adhere to our investment philosophy and process at all times, regardless of market conditions and sentiments. Our high conviction in both long and short ideas is underpinned by our investigative research; we have 28 investment professionals on the ground throughout Asia talking to our investees’ corporate chiefs, competitors, suppliers, customers and industry experts.
The firm holds a Capital Market Services licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct fund management activities and is also registered as an investment adviser by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, APS is registered with the Ontario Securities Commission.
Being a nimble, value-focused, fundamental manager with a contrarian approach, our strategy thrives on irrational market events or sentiments with little to no long-term impact on corporate fundamentals in Asia. Such market conditions cause strong companies to become undervalued, or weak companies’ valuation to become overstretched. With our close watch on valuation, sustainable profitability, free cash flow, return on equity and competitive dynamics that impact these variables, we are able to discern buying and selling opportunities.
Company: APS Asset Management Email: cs@aps.com.sg Web Address: www.aps.com.sg Address: 3 Anson Rd, Springleaf Tower, #23-01 Singapore 079909 Telephone: (65)6303 4595
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
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A Well-Known and Highly Respected Currency Specialist Currency Index Ltd provides foreign currency payments, at preferential exchange rates compared to typical banks. This saves their clients money, and the firm’s personal service also takes the headache out of international money transfers. The firm offer simple products to help clients manage mortgage currency risk - as well as simple ‘spot’ transactions to send an immediate payment and clients can fix and guarantee rates for up to two years in advance - with a ‘forward’ contract, or specify worst-and best-case rates using limit and stop loss orders
What does your client base look like? Private clients, whether they are buying property abroad, emigrating or repatriating foreign income to the UK; and business, who might be importing goods or services from overseas and therefore have a requirement for international multi-currency payments.
Looking to the future, what is the main objective for your company? To go from our industry’s ‘best kept secret’ to a well-known and highly respected currency specialist. What individual in your industry and beyond do you admire the most and why? James Dyson – a true great British businessman.
In fact – anyone, anywhere, who needs to move money across borders, can benefit from our service. What factors set your firm apart from others in the same field? Currency Index Ltd’s personal service levels, with a dedicated account manager for every client, along with market-leading exchange rates and fast, efficient payments sets us apart from our competitors.
Name: Robin Haynes Company: Currency Index Ltd Email: robin.haynes@currencyindex.co.uk Web Address: www.currencyindex.co.uk Address: Hollybush House, 5a New Road, Croxley Green, Herts WD3 3EJ Telephone: 01923 725725
The result is a jargon-free, simple service, making our clients comfortable in all their international transactions, at the same time knowing that they are saving between 1-4% compared to the exchange rates offered by their bank.
“In fact – anyone, anywhere, who needs to move money across borders, can benefit from our service.” What is the main challenge facing your company today? Brexit fears have delayed some Brits’ plans to buy overseas property, and the fall in value of the Pound has not helped. But demand for currency transfers will always exist, so the challenge for us is reaching those individuals and companies who are not aware that an alternative to their bank exists, and showing them how we can solve a problem that they didn’t even know they had.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
Best in Software and Data 2016
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Fulfilling Supply Chain Experience IPC is an independent SUBWAY® franchisee-owned and operated purchasing cooperative for SUBWAY® restaurants in the United States and Canada. Based in Miami, IPC negotiates the lowest costs for purchased goods and services, while improving quality, enhancing competitiveness and ensuring the best value to SUBWAY® members and their customers. IPC’s mission is to help SUBWAY® franchisees be more profitable and competitive – today and for the future.
As Chief Information Officer George Labelle explains, “At the forefront of our mind is the impact our work has on our stakeholders: the thousands of small business owners who are SUBWAY® franchisees. Our goal is to save franchisees money and time so that they can grow their business. Our focus will continue to be on embracing innovation and delivering quality.”
SUBWAY® is the largest restaurant chain in the world by number of units, and IPC leverages that size to negotiate the best possible price for food products, packaging products, equipment and other services. Representing a brand built on ‘fresh’, IPC must get products from farm to restaurant as quickly and safely as possible. Inspired by the agile approach and the latest thinking in software development and project management, IPC has built a highly sophisticated data collection and analysis system that informs every level of the supply chain in order to drive out inefficiency. Few food service companies have the level of insight into the movement of products through the supply chain that IPC does. IPC uses complex analysis to refine purchasing amounts and forecasting so that the right number of products are purchased at the right time, reducing waste and minimising stock outages.
Company: Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Inc. Name: George Labelle, Chief Information Officer Email: george@ipcoop.com Web Address: www.ipcoop.com Address: 9200 S. Dadeland Blvd. Miami Florida 33156 US Telephone: 001 305 670 0041
“IPC takes its role safeguarding food safety and quality very seriously and prides itself on ensuring SUBWAY® products are the freshest in the industry.”
IPC takes its role safeguarding food safety and quality very seriously and prides itself on ensuring SUBWAY® products are the freshest in the industry. A few years ago, the company created a web-based application called QualityNet, which allows all of its different trading partners in the supply chain to collaborate to ensure the freshest and safest food in the restaurant industry. IPC has a very collaborative corporate culture that requires teamwork, innovation, and constructive feedback. For example, when designing new software, the Information Technology team works on interdisciplinary teams that include designers, builders, operators and evaluators. Instead of planning the rollout of a business solution over months or even years, the teams break every project down into smaller components that can be developed and evaluated in two week increments. This allows the technology team to respond to changing business initiatives quickly. The team regularly rates itself on mutually agreed upon metrics. IPC is embracing the next generation of technological advancements that will revolutionise the supply chain. For example, the company is already experimenting with the reality of driverless trucks, the internet of things, and block-chain technology.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
Corporate Distinction Awards
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Technology You Can Bank On Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a global leader in financial services technology, with a focus on retail and institutional banking, payments, asset and wealth management, risk and compliance, consulting and outsourcing solutions.
The company’s heritage dates to 1968 as Systematics™, which was later acquired by ALLTEL Information Services, and then bought by title insurance giant Fidelity National Financial® in 2003, who renamed it Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).
Key findings show a substantial proportion of banked consumers continue to prefer their primary financial provider when considering financial products to help with major life events. Yet the digital age has already impacted their lifestyles, driving expectations of swift decisions, as well as, easy and instant access to information to make their financial lives simple. Customers want to be better connected to their money, placing high value on leading-edge digital banking and payments products.
Over the course of the several years, the company acquired numerous other financial services technology firms that broadened the company’s reach, positioning the company as the largest technology provider to the global financial industry.
The 2016 PACE Index shows that consumers worldwide generally turn to their primary financial institutions first, but those institutions must be prepared to serve their needs immediately. It’s particularly true of mobile-savvy millennials. This segment stood out in this survey for how deeply they expect their banking services to mesh with their daily lives. The PACE survey shows that, if a financial institution wants to be a customer’s bank for life, it must first become that customer’s bank for living – that means meeting all the needs a customer may have in his or her daily life, so that customer thinks of the bank first, always.
In 2015, FIS purchased SunGard, its largest acquisition to date. SunGard’s complementary offerings brought FIS into new markets for financial technology and services to the broader FIS client base. The acquisition propelled FIS to a $9.3 billion company and uniquely positions it to offer a broad range of retail and wholesale banking, capital markets, enterprise, and payments capabilities. The combination of organic and external growth has positioned FIS among the world’s leading technology providers for the financial services industry. Through the visionary leadership of the management and business philosophy, FIS remains on a short list of providers capable of offering end-to-end solutions to financial institutions and retailers across the world.
FIS Digital Solutions FIS Digital Finance is shaping the future of digital banking and payments with a powerful portfolio of retail and business solutions. Its strategic investment in a next-generation platform delivers rapid speed-to-market for both out-of-the-box and customised solutions, capabilities and features.
Through the depth and breadth of its solutions portfolio, global capabilities, and domain expertise, FIS serves more than 20,000 clients in over 130 countries. Providing software, services and outsourcing of the technology that empowers the financial world, FIS employs more than 55,000 people worldwide. FIS is a Fortune 500 company and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index.
FIS digital solutions offer a seamless customer experience that has garnered multiple analyst awards and industry recognition. FIS is committed to investing innovations that are moving the market, creating new mobile-first features, advancing real-time payments, and using active analytics to create a personalised, impactful digital banking experience. Bridging the gap between traditional and digital banking channels, FIS provides clients with the right tools to help their customers manage their financial lives – when and where they need them. From robust personal financial management to financial calculators, online or in-app appointment scheduling, and Cardless Cash™ access at the ATM, banks stay top-of-mind with their connected customers.
The Digital Financial Revolution To better understand and serve the evolving needs of its clients and their customers, FIS conducts an annual in-depth, global research study on consumer expectations of financial institution performance, the FIS Performance Against Customer Expectations (PACE) Index.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | INVESTMENT
“For nearly 50 years, FIS has focused on guiding institutions of all asset sizes, global FIs, large national FIs, mid-tier and community banks to a stable and profitable future�
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To empower banks to satisfy evolving expectations of their mobile-savvy users, FIS has holistically redesigned the mobile banking experience to be more intuitive, streamlined and to enable the ability to access information and complete tasks faster. The optimized navigation provides quick-access to customers’ go-to features, such as bill pay, deposits and transfers, and expanded money movement capabilities allowing users to pay anyone, anywhere – right from their mobile app. FIS offers robust security and authentication capabilities, making the digital banking and payments experience faster, simpler and safer. Customers maintain control of their finances with the ability to set fraud alerts, easily turn cards off/on and set spending limits based on transaction type, amount or location. Demonstrating commitment to innovation, FIS has established innovation labs worldwide. These labs provide an opportunity for engineers to experiment with, develop and test emerging and bleeding-edge technologies such wearables, the internet of things, voice-based interaction models, VR and AI, offering clients the agility to extend their digital solutions to meet evolving market changes. Heritage of Leadership For nearly 50 years, FIS has focused on guiding institutions of all asset sizes, global FIs, large national FIs, mid-tier and community banks to a stable and profitable future. Understanding and serving the unique needs of individual customer segments has shaped the strategic direction of FIS, which is partnering with financial institutions worldwide to forge stronger, more profitable and lasting customer relationships. Given the current global economic environment and its direct impact on the financial services industry, the firm’s ability to understand the unique needs of its clients is even more important to its strategic client relationships. FIS continues to lead the industry in terms of investment in R&D - in evolving our solutions, and introducing new innovations. We invest significantly through internal reinvestment as part of a disciplined portfolio management process, combined with ‘tuck in’ acquisitions and venture investments. Employing more than 55,000 employees who work together to unleash the imagination of forward-thinking, harness the endurance of the security-minded and embrace the integrity of its business model as it shapes the future of the global financial technology industry has been a key factor behind the success of this firm and its contributions to the financial technology industry and the world.
Company: FIS Web Address: www.fisglobal.com Address: 601 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32204 USA Telephone: 001 904 438 6000
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
“If you’re a mobile banking user or pay your bills online – if you interact with a financial institution at all – chances are you’re more familiar with Fiserv than you realize.”
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Asset Managers Need a Single Point of Access The next generation of wealth management technology will revolutionise industry practices by streamlining workflows. When it comes to traditional separately managed accounts and model portfolio distribution, asset managers require a single point of access into a network of managedaccount sponsors. This would allow them to move effortlessly across multiple sponsor platforms, implementing, managing and monitoring their investment strategy and decisions. However, this connectivity has historically been lacking.
for allocating or feed an application to facilitate execution analysis. For those running best execution analysis within their home systems, obtaining execution data from multiple platforms with disparate file layouts is an additional challenge involving downloading, potentially translating and then uploading.
Asset managers are challenged with having several open accounts on their screens, each requiring separate login and password information, and each in danger of timing out while they work on other views. To put it in the context of everyday life, imagine you are reconciling all of your accounts on a Saturday afternoon — everyday banking, savings, credit union, American Express, Visa, and so on. All are in front of you on your laptop with several screens open, all with separate logins and different time-outs. The process takes a long time and would be more efficient if everything could be processed in one place with one screen and login.
Not only would updating this process increase productivity and save time, enabling firms to better grow their client base and increase volumes and revenue, it would also allow investors to receive a higher level of service. In today’s digital age, consumers demand access to their information whenever and wherever they choose, and expect updates in real-time. By responding more quickly and effectively, customers are more likely to remain with the company, positively impacting revenues and reputation.
Asset managers, whose model portfolio or strategy is distributed to multiple wrap sponsors, experience the same issues on a daily basis. They must implement investment strategy changes made on their home platform across a multitude of sponsor platforms. This entails moving between screens with different navigations and behaviours — all while keeping track of logins, passwords, and open versus closed tasks per sponsor.
These complicated historical processes are just no longer effective. As consumers demand services that fit their lifestyles, wealth managers and advisors must keep apace of these changes and provide services that meet and enable those expectations. Also, if firms want to remain competitive, they need to take advantage of new digital services that allow them to stay one step ahead. A single point of access to a network of managed-account sponsors, with the added capability of moving between sponsors, will empower the wealth management industry and drive growth.
The process is a bit cumbersome and inefficient, and it is just the first hurdle to overcome without a single point of access. Once one sponsor is filled, managing rotating trades across sponsors and routing trades through to the next one can also be an issue. Or, if rotation is not needed, asset managers must use manual processes on each platform to place trades across all sponsor platforms. The headaches mount when you consider disparate file layouts and the need to download, potentially translate, and upload trades.
The good news is that we are now seeing industry players come together to create the network of the future. As the wealth management industry becomes digitised, market participants will benefit from standardised, simplified communications. Data, sponsors, managers, custodians and third parties can be brought together to create a community that allows a model to move from a manager to multiple sponsor programs, or provide comprehensive, real-time information to advisors to help them better manage investor assets. Technology is helping to create the next generation of wealth management, with networks that will connect the industry and its participants together in a very efficient and powerful way.
Model portfolio and strategy providers face similar challenges, such as rotating model changes across sponsors, knowing when to send to the next sponsor, or communicating model changes across all sponsors without updating a variety of model portal applications. All of this is compounded by the risk associated with switching between screens and manual updates. Multiple processes add to the pressure of achieving best execution as model providers ask, ‘Am I really getting to the market as quickly as I can for each sponsor?’
Company: Fiserv Name: Henry Eickman, Senior Product Manager, Investment Services Web Address: www.fiserv.com Address: 255 Fiserv Drive, Brookfield, WI 53045, PO Box 979 Brookfield, WI 53008-0979
Hurdles remain even after all trades or model changes have been entered. For example, managers cannot move efficiently across various sponsor platforms to gauge any level of trading exposure. After the executions are in, asset managers face additional challenges to push the execution data out, whether they need to post that data to internal systems
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Money Remains the Biggest Conversation Taboo for High Net Worth Individuals - But This is Changing Money is becoming less of a conversation taboo for high net worth individuals but it still remains the most awkward topic, reveals a new global poll. In an international survey carried out by deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations, 43% of those polled ranked personal finance as the most difficult subject to discuss with family, friends and colleagues.
It came ahead of politics (28%), sex (14%), religion (10%), and health issues (5%) in the study of 830 clients who have investable assets of more than £1m. The respondents came from the UK, the US, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa. deVere, which has clients in 100 countries, carried out a similar survey two years ago in which 61% of high net worth clients cited money as the most difficult topic of conversation.
gauche to talk about. There’s the misplaced underlying feeling that to talk about financial privilege is to flaunt it. This shame-like sentiment is despite the fact that the wealthiest individuals have often been and continue to be some of the most important job and wealth creators and philanthropists.” He goes on to say: “but this social taboo of talking money appears to be being broken down. This is likely to be because business leaders, politicians, celebrities and even those who have inherited their wealth can increasingly not avoid having their finances in the public domain and discussed. This then becomes the social norm. The rise of the digital age and social media in particular we believe play an important part in this trend that is responsible for shifting the money taboo.
deVere CEO and founder, Nigel Green, commented: “This survey highlights how money has become considerably less of a conversation taboo for the wealthy even within the relatively short time frame of two years. Having said that, personal finance – which can include income, taxes, pensions, debt, savings and expenses - clearly remains the most awkward subject for discussion.”
“It is also perhaps unsurprising that politics is becoming more of a taboo subject amongst our nearest and dearest. We’re living in a divisive political era, as evidenced by the rise of Donald Trump as a potential U.S. president and the Brexit vote, amongst other issues.”
“This survey highlights how money has become considerably less of a conversation taboo for the wealthy even within the relatively short time frame of two years.
Mr Green concludes: “By discarding the conversation taboo surrounding money, as a society we can recognise and celebrate how it can truly enhance people’s lives and achieve an unbelievable power of good. In addition, it will help shrug off the ‘head in the sand’ attitude to personal finances that holds many back from reaching their financial goals. “Plus, when money is an awkward topic of conversation, it is easier for people to get an unfair deal. These people typically tend to be women and ethnic minorities. Silence about money issues can often allow the unfairness to continue unabated.”
He continued: “Traditionally, money has been a no-go area in polite conversation. This is because money stirs up a great deal of intense emotion as it affects almost every area of people’s lives. “For the better-off in many countries, there has often been a sense of embarrassment or guilt surrounding their wealth and, as such, it was and/or is
Company: deVere Group Web Address: www.devere-group.com
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Money Management Awards
“We carefully create and structure an investment plan to meet all our clients’ requirements and research the best product to suit their circumstances and goals.”
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A High Level of Success In Sync Financial Services is an Australian privately owned and 28-year old financial planning firm, focusing on providing business and personal services to high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) and small business owners. Instead of focusing on products, we are dedicated in helping our clients develop a holistic strategy which covers all areas of their finances. We aim to establish long term relationships with all clients, by helping them to achieve financial security and to enjoy a better lifestyle, knowing that their entire financial situation has been considered and effectively planned. The firm is performing extremely well in this notoriously competitive industry. Consistently going above and beyond for all clients and adding extra value in every interaction whether it is sourcing the most competitively priced products or fighting for our clients’ insurance benefit claims.
Business Services At In Sync Financial Services, our aim is to find the superannuation and insurance products that best suit our clients’ companies’ needs, situation and structure. We research and source products in the following areas: • Corporate Super; • Key Person insurance; • Buy/Sell insurance; • Group life insurance and; • Group Salary Continuance insurance.
We carefully create and structure an investment plan to meet all our clients’ requirements and research the best product to suit their circumstances and goals. Superannuation In Sync Financial Services can help our clients to: • Consolidate superannuation policies into one easy to manage account; • Compare fees to ensure they pay minimal fees; • Assist with the setting of financial goals, making them realistic and achievable; • Ensure they have an Investment strategy that is in line with their financial goals; • Plan retirement and the transition to retirement.
We strive to make the administration process trouble free allowing our clients to fully focus on their businesses. Personal Services
Client base We serve High Net Worth individuals and Small to Medium businesses. The main source of new clients is through referrals from existing clients, which in itself is evidence that our clients not only trust, but believe in and value the service that we provide.
Insurance At In Sync Financial Services, we can help our clients manage the effects of serious illness, or even death, so that these events do not seriously jeopardise their families’ financial well-being. As we are not aligned with any financial institution, we have access to a range of products as follows: • Life insurance; • Total & Permanent Disability insurance; • Trauma insurance; • Income Protection insurance; • Business Expense insurance and; • Children insurance.
A high level of success My staff are the back bone of the company. Our process practice is to return emails and phone calls within hours, and my staff are certainly very accessible to the clients. Because of our attention to detail and our superior work ethic, we enjoy a high level of success. In closing, I believe that legislative changes and a global economic slowdown historically low interest rates globally which have inflated other investment asset classes like equities and property.
Investment In Sync Financial Services carefully assesses our clients’ investment needs, and their investment profiles, before making any recommendations as to whether they are investing as an: • Individual; • Self-Managed Superannuation Fund; • Partnership; • Trust or; • Companies.
Company: InSync Financial Services Name: Paul Del Grande Email: syd@insyncfs.com.au Web Address: www.insyncfs.com.au Address: Easts Tower, Suite 203, Level 2, 9 Bronte Road, Bondi Junction NSW 2022, Australia. Telephone: 02 9387 8199
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
60-Second Interview
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The Important Things in Life Totara Financial Planning are client focused financial planners and independent financial advisers. Based in Cobham, Totara provide specialist financial planning advice backed up by independent pension, investment, mortgage and protection advice. In an interview with Andy Smith, he lifts the lid on the work of his firm, which has a client base ranging from local medium to high net worth families.
Can you outline how the approach of your firm is unique? Totara Financial Planning’s unique approach means we focus on the provision of financial planning first and foremost, not financial products. Our goal is to provide clarity around individuals and families financial futures and importantly, to tell people the truth about money. We do all this aligned with helping people plan not only their financial future, but also plan their current and future lifestyle, this is important as life is not a rehearsal! We find this is something many people lose focus of, and our financial planning helps people focus on the important things in life. What is the biggest challenge facing Totara Financial Planning at present? The firm’s biggest challenge at present is finding more of the ‘right kind of clients’. What is the main aim for your business? Totara Financial Planning’s aim is to provide more families with financial peace of mind and clarity. What individual in your industry and beyond do you admire the most and why? Paul Armson of Inspiring Advisers who has created a credible pathway for Financial Planners to follow.
Name: Andy Smith Company: Totara Financial Planning Email: andy@totarafp.co.uk Web Address: www.totarafp.co.uk Address: 8 Postboys Row, Between Streets, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1AB Telephone: 0800 038 5400
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
60-Second Interview
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A Personalised and Flexible Service City Asset Management (CAM) is a discretionary investment management firm that offers clients a more personalised and flexible service than that offered by many larger asset managers and private banks. We spoke to Business Development Director Helen Angove about the firm, which was established in 1988 and is mainly owned by the working directors and staff. It is structured as a privately owned PLC, indeed CAM is one of the few independently owned discretionary managers left in the UK. Who are the clients of CAM? Our clients are individuals, families, charities and corporates who have money to invest in portfolios for the longer term, mostly in tax efficient wrappers such as ISAs, pensions, trusts and charitiable trusts. What makes your firm stand out from the competition? CAM are a boutique firm that provide a very high level of service to clients and their advisers, as well as investment expertise developed over decades. Our practice is to meet with clients at least once a year and return emails and calls within hours. Our experience and investment process means that clients expereince less volatility in their portfolios than the markets over time. What challenge does the business face? The firm’s challenge is to continue to provide exceptional service to our existing and new clients and their advisers, while resisting the temptation to grow to the point where it compromises efficiency and expertise. What are CAM’s plans for the future? To continue to provide clients with an exceptional service through the generations
Company: City Asset Management Plc Name: Helen Angove Email: helen.angove@city-asset.co.uk Web Address: www.city-asset.co.uk Address: 7 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 3AR Compliance code AN5680
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
A Focussed and Personal Service
60-Second Interview
Valdis Skudre / Shutterstock.com
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Dart Capital is a privately owned, London based wealth management company managing portfolios ranging from £200,000 to £20 million. They provide a relationship based investment management and financial planning service to their clients and place emphasis on the quality and longevity of these relationships. We caught up with the firm’s CEO, Richard Whitehead who reveals more about the firm who serves clients from all walks of life.
What makes your company unique? Dart Capital provide a very focussed and personal service which has been refined over the years to suit the needs of our clients. The majority of our clients come to us through referral. Our service is based solely on our belief of what is right for our client. We run no products of our own so our team is independent and free to choose the best available. What is the overriding challenge facing Dart Capital today? Managing client expectations in a world where lower returns are becoming the norm. With traditional safe haven assets often providing a negative real return it is a challenge to ensure clients expectations are managed and they do not feel compelled to take on more risk. What is the fundamental aim of Dart Capital? To deliver a quality service to all of our clients. What is the major challenge facing the company? The rise of “robo advice” represents a potential challenge to the traditional, relationship based, model. Whilst we are not seeing clients moving away from our service in favour of “robo advice”, the rise of low cost models is inevitably creating more competition and therefore a downwards pressure on fees and margins. What individual in your industry and beyond do you admire the most and why? Neil Woodford is a standout character in our industry. His time at Invesco was incredibly successful due to his many years of performance and the resultant asset growth which was evidenced by the volume of assets that followed him.
Name: Richard Whitehead Company: Dart Capital Email: Richard.whitehead@dartcapital.com Web Address: www.dartcapital.com Address: 4 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AE Telephone: 0207 283 1117
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
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The Customer is King Saunderson House provide independent, award-winning financial advice and investment services to their clients. The firm’s team of qualified, trained advisers and investment professionals manage the wealth of their clients, to help them achieve their financial goals. The firm provides a complete wealth management service, offering advisory and discretionary financial services. Managing Director Tony Overy reveals more about Saunderson House’s approach, current industry challenges and what sets the firm apart.
What does your client base look like? Our clients are primarily high net worth city professionals, for example partners at legal and accountancy firms, barristers and entrepreneurs. We also have clients in the charity and trust sector.
consider in these uncertain times. We have made sure our clients remain up to date on issues affecting their investments and have made recommendations for change where required. Following the result, we are keeping our clients informed of fastchanging events with regular correspondence. In July we reduced equity exposure within client portfolios, taking advantage of the recent upward market move.
Our expert team work on a one-to-one basis with all our clients, ensuring we provide a tailored service. What factors set your firm apart from others in the same field? Our client-centric approach. We work to provide the highest standard of client service, building strong relationships as well as providing expert advice on wealth management.
Another challenging area for the wealth management industry is fee transparency. A lack of transparency can leave investors in the dark, and wealth managers have previously been criticised for failing to disclose charges to clients.
We differentiate ourselves by having a simple fee charging structure. This simplicity also applies to our investment approach, where we focus on just four asset classes – equities, bonds, cash and property.
Saunderson House manage this by placing transparency high in our core client service principles. We employ an hourly charging rate, and our fee policy has been transparent from the start, prior to regulations enforced by the FCA.
We endeavour to protect client portfolios from hidden risks and costs, by investing in assets where we understand, in detail, where value is driven.
Looking to the future, what is the main objective for your company? Our core objective is providing high quality financial advice and investment services to our clients. We will continue to expand our client and asset base, predominently through organic growth and continually improving the service we deliver. This is supported by focussing on people, efficiency and client service and marketing strategy.
“As well as providing high quality financial advice and investment services to our clients, we also focus on growth strategy.”
Name: Tony Overy, Managing Director Company: Saunderson House Email: tony.overy@saundersonhouse.co.uk Web Address: www.saundersonhouse.co.uk Telephone: 020 7315 6500
Additionally, as an independent firm we are not aligned to specific funds or products, therefore our clients’ interests are top of our priorities and we have no constraints to our recommendations. What are the most interesting challenges facing your company today? The EU Referendum result has prompted uncertainty for most UK businesses and the consequences are largely unknown as we go forward. We are very busy supporting our clients and helping them navigate the top personal financial planning issues they need to
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | WEALTH MANAGEMENT
2016’s Most Innovative Financial Planners
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What Matters Most? Based in Calgary, the Tower Group is a talented team who work hard on changing the game of financial planning. No longer is it about deferring lifestyle until retirement and just about using the right financial products. What is critical is to be asking the right questions and empowered with the right knowledge. It is about what matters most to you and achieving clarity of direction and confidence in decision making within these times of exceptional change and perceived chaos. The main company behind the Tower Group is currently a wealth management and strategy firm, specialised for medical professionals, but they will soon launch a new array of support, services and tools!
Lastly, WBYY.Life – “Wise Beyond Your Years” involves experienced and empowered decision making through access to the best advice for life’s biggest moments of change. Often a person wishes they knew then what they know now, so this channel of information gives you knowledge today that you will wish you had in the future. It is about mastering life by leveraging the experience of others and tapping into best practices.
In regards to the Tower Group’s competitors, what separates them apart is the depth of the relationship, frequency of contact and the scope of their work. It is as much about counselling and consulting on relevant topics and the literacy or knowledge behind them as it is about leveraging the right financial strategies within your plan. Added to that, people who know them realise that they are not solely a comprehensive financial planning firm, integrating advice from a team of professionals for your benefit and brokering solid insurance and investment plans. Their clients know that they are leading the charge within the change in their industry, led by converging trends and radical shifts in consumer demands and needs.
“The firm recognises that the financial industry has morphed and changed in the UK and the same thing is now happening in North America.”
The firm recognises that the financial industry has morphed and changed in the UK and the same thing is now happening in North America. Furthermore, they recognise that from a changing regulatory environment, they have needed to shift the whole thought process and value offering.
The Tower Group has been recognised as an innovator and game changer within their industry and they are excited about what lies ahead. They will continue their core business of representing a limited number of clientele as a boutique financial firm but are passionate about moving forward with their new initiatives.
The Tower Group’s Wealth Creation SystemTM is based on your definition of a quality life and therefore it focuses on a 3-year timeline within your financial plan, all tied back to your scorecard so you can track progress and keep score. It is a one-on-one consultation and with three distinct models within the system, it is tailored to work with owners of closely held private corporations (such as medical professionals or successful companies, typically with less than 50 employees). Being a boutique firm, they only accept limited numbers of new clientele each year.
Company: The Tower Group Web Address: http://wmm.life/
The Tower Group Advisory Services’ Glorious Life ProgramTM, which is at the higher level of their work, aims to guide you on a path of implementing and living a philosophy around what matters most, which so many people resonate with. Effectively, it is about building a community of like-minded individuals, growing together. WMM.Life – “What Matters Most” is about gaining and maintain perspective and capturing what is most important in life. The intention is to have a new tool/exercise each month for your use and the cause behind it is to protect, capture and share what truly matters the most.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | LEGAL
Bagging the Box The built environment of the UK’s health and fitness industry is changing. Traditionally dominated by ‘big box gyms’ stocked with treadmills, resistance machines and other bulky equipment, the industry is now shifting its focus. The growing popularity of high intensity interval training and calisthenics, driven in part by the influence of celebrity personal trainers such as the Body Coach, is leading gyms to increasingly favour utilising smaller, near-empty spaces found more often on the high street, rather than in traditional out-of-town locations.
The UK’s fitness economy continues to take its lead from the United States, where new developments, both in fitness trends and business terms, continue to transform the market. In the US, ‘boutique’ studio gyms have bit deeply into the market share of traditional big box gyms, with the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the US trade association of the fitness industry, reporting in 2014 that 42% of US gym goers are now members of a small studio gym, driving a 200% year-on-year increase in the number of new box space studio openings.
Despite these preventative measures, gym owners must be aware that new box space gyms are often not welcomed by local communities. Designated in D2 class under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, box spaces are classified similarly to nightclubs and as such can be seen as undesirable additions to residential neighbourhoods. This can become a particular concern in relation to opening hours. Just as box operators naturally seek longer business hours in order to maximise potential sales – particularly from gym goers wishing to work out before and after normal office hours - local residents may often seek to restrict them, which can cause delays at the planning application stage.
The small scale, box space gym market is booming and the UK fitness industry is starting to adapt. But as this fashionable new approach to health and fitness becomes increasingly popular and the physical environment of UK gyms continues to evolve, a number of legal considerations emerge for any gym owner seeking to lease a space to set up a new box space gym.
Of course, box space gyms will only create noise if people use them. Getting customers through the door is the first priority and visibility is everything, particularly for gyms housed in basement spaces and other less obvious locations. However, in the rush to market their new business, gym owners must be wary; placing eye-catching signage such as posters, boards or directional placards is not without legal considerations. Prior agreement must be sought before any advertisement is fixed in place, with specific permission granted in the lease or licence for alterations documentation.
The first is the importance of timing in negotiating with landlords. It is vital to engage early with landlords, particularly if there are more than one involved in the property. Beginning negotiations as early as possible will increase the likelihood of securing consent for the under lease or assignment. Linked to this, is the importance of being specific in setting the parameters of your negotiations with landlords. Gym owners should set specific deadlines for landlords to apply for relevant consents, rather than accepting ‘reasonable’ timings, an ill-defined terminology that can incur delays.
Nevertheless, these legal and local community-related obstacles should not deter would-be box space gym owners from venturing into this new and exciting market space. The industry is rising and indicators point towards there being further market growth potential. Although Sports England reported a 153000 decline in the number of gym goers in the UK in 2015, this points towards those gym-goers retreating to box spaces and non-traditional venues.
The precise location of box gym spaces is also an important factor, with the impact of noise pollution on neighbours a key issue. Many box gyms are located in residential areas and the smaller the box space, the more likely there is to be a greater number of neighbouring households affected by noise.
The market opportunity is clear. As box space gyms become increasingly commonplace across the UK, traditional big box gyms will need to adapt their own business models in order to find and secure market share. Big box gyms may well be forced to grow even larger in scale and ambition, extending and diversifying their service offering to attract customers, including the provision of childcare facilities and healthy snack bars that smaller box spaces cannot offer.
Gyms are naturally noisy environments, not least given the popularity of playing music loudly while people are working out. Undertaking an acoustic report and decibel test at an early stage is vital, particularly in mixed use buildings. To prevent issues with both landlords and neighbours, it is advisable to insert a specific and pre-agreed decibel and vibration level into the lease, which should be tested on site, ideally with both landlord and tenant present.
A battle of business models in the UK fitness industry may be about to begin. It is one that new box space entrepreneurs can win, providing they understand the legal issues at play.
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Company: Seddons Name: Natalie Stein Email: enquiries@seddons.co.uk Web Address: www.seddons.co.uk Address: Seddons Solicitors, 5 Portman Square, London, W1H 6NT Telephone: +44 (0)20 7725 8000
“The market opportunity is clear. As box space gyms become increasingly commonplace across the UK, traditional big box gyms will need to adapt their own business models in order to find and secure market share� 63
Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | LEGAL
Brexit Prompts Public & Businesses to Seek Legal Advice from Barristers New figures from the Bar Council’s Direct Access Portal, the free to use ‘find a barrister’ website, show that the public and businesses are turning to barristers to help them with a wide range of legal issues. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Search statistics from a sample of more than 9000 individual searches made between 1 January and 1 August 2016 reveal that the top 20 most common search terms on the Portal, which lists barristers who have undergone additional training in order to deal directly with clients, revealed that employment issues, commercial matters and EU law were amongst the most popular searches this year. Searches for intellectual property, personal injury and disability discrimination were also popular, as was banking. Chairman of the Bar, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC, said: “These findings give some indication of what the consumer, whether that be an individual member of the public or a small or medium sized business, are seeking the services of a direct access barrister for. The broad range of popular searches in the top 20 alone show the public are looking to barristers for all types of legal support. “We can only assume that the reason EU law is so high up the rankings (fourth) is because of the uncertainty of Brexit. Although the main reason anyone is seeking the services of a barrister in the first place is because they are uncertain of their position in relation to the law, whether that be an employment issue, land dispute, or a matter affecting their business.
Professional Negligence; Wills/Inheritance; Administrative; Landlord and tenant; Commercial; Land; Intellectual Property; Probate; Banking; Disability Discrimination; Mental health; Personal injury; Court of Protection; Trusts; Defamation; Medical Negligence.
Mid table searches on the Portal included even the less common areas of law, such as Ecclesiastical law and Animal Welfare law. The least popular search was Transport law. There are 70 different areas of law to search from on the Portal and multiple searches can be made. The Portal allows consumers and businesses to search for a barrister based on their areas of legal expertise and location in England & Wales.
“It is encouraging to see that growing numbers are turning to direct access barristers for legal help. Traditionally, the public would go through a solicitor in order to access the services of a barrister. Direct access allows anyone to go straight to a barrister where their case or legal problem is suited to that type of approach. In some cases, it might be more appropriate for someone to go to a solicitor who can subsequently instruct a barrister if needs be. The point of direct access is that it creates more choice for those with a problem who need a legal professional to help them and allows them access to the specialist skills of a barrister.”
The Bar Council represents barristers in England and Wales. It promotes: • The Bar’s high quality specialist advocacy and advisory services; • Fair access to justice for all; • The highest standards of ethics, equality and diversity across the profession, and; • The development of business opportunities for barristers at home and abroad. The General Council of the Bar is the Approved Regulator of the Bar of England and Wales. It discharges its regulatory functions through the independent Bar Standards Board
The top 20 most popular searches on the Direct Access Portal were, in order: 1. Civil; 2. Property; 3. Employment; 4. EU;
Website: www.barcouncil.org.uk
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ACA Compliance Group A leading provider of regulatory compliance products and solutions to investment firms across the globe. We are specialists in: • Ongoing Regulatory Support & Reporting • Provision of On-site Compliance Resources • Independent Regulatory Audits & Focused Reviews • Bespoke Regulatory Projects • Cybersecurity and IT Risk • Compliance Training • GIPS® Verification, Consulting & Focused Performance Reviews • FCA Authorisation and SEC/CFTC Registration
Contact Adam Palmer or Jonathan Wedgbury for more information: adam.palmer@acacomplianceeurope.com jonathan.wedgbury@acacomplianceeurope.com +44 (0)20 7042 0500
ACA Compliance (Europe) Limited Panton House, 25 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4EN acacomplianceeurope.com
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Simply the Asbestos UK Corporate Excellence Awards
Southern Asbestos Solutions are an asbestos company, focused on carrying out removals, surveys and encapsulations on a commercial, residential and industrial level. Based in London, and with additional offices in Portsmouth and Devon they carry out works across the south including but not limited to London, all home counties, dorset, wiltshire, sussex, Hampshire & surrey.
In regards to the employees of Southern Asbestos Solutions, in the asbestos field you have to select the right person to fit the company. At present, there is a wide variation in the industry with the calibre of people, but if you are very selective from the outset you can guide them on the company values and the quality expected and create a great team. Ultimately, because staff represent the company, they are hugely important as they are what the client sees on a regular basis.
The surveyors of Southern Asbestos Solutions are fully p402 asbestos trained, often attending different sites to carry out refurbishments for demolition surveys and asbestos management surveys. From the initial site survey we can move forward carrying out any removals which may be required. In regards to the recent outcome of the Brexit vote, we have seen people are a lot more reserved in regards to placing orders for new projects. The clients of Southern Asbestos Solutions may be concerned about the future of their business and of course this has a knock on effect. At the moment, Southern Asbestos Solutions is coping well but moving forward, we are keen to see stability in the marketplace, but of course the industry can dramatically change at any point.
In terms of the issues facing the asbestos industry, rules and regulations are often changing but anything that can be done to improve the health and safety in this area I believe is a good thing. With the arrival of new rules and regulations, the industry has to evolve and adapt and therefore pricing has to adapt to different removal methods. We insist on additional methods over and above and for the firm’s clients, because the safety of our employees is very important. With removal methods likely to get more stringent in the future, I believe that regulations are likely to get a lot tougher further down the line.
In regards to the recent outcome of the Brexit vote, we have seen people are a lot more reserved in regards to placing orders for new projects. The clients of Southern Asbestos Solutions may be concerned about the future of their business and of course this has a knock on effect.
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2016 and beyond, Southern Asbestos Solutions would like to build on what the firm have developed so far. Increasing the consistent enquiries and workload will be key, as it can allow you to plan for future recruitment. The firm have recently been recruiting and seek to continue this further in the future. If we can increase the firm’s workload, then a couple of members of staff will potentially be in line for further promotion. The company itself will look to maintain its continued progression as it has done over the years. During each year, we gain more and also maintain clients, so the firm’s workload increases through such a continued client base.
Company: Southern Asbestos Solutions Name: Simon Walker Web Address: www.southernasbestosgroup.co.uk Telephone: 0845 302 1955
Southern Asbestos Solutions have a huge variation in clients, dealing with small domestic clients that could have small scale work with anything from a sample to large scale industrial or commercial projects including tower blocks which we currently have in central London. We also deal with flats for developers and work with councils, MOD and the highway agency.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | PERSONNEL
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Report Shows Companies Using Training to Foster Strong Workplaces, but are Missing the Board and Millennials Ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global® in late July announced findings from its 2016 Ethics & Compliance Training Benchmark Report. While creating a culture of ethics and respect was again respondents’ top objective, more than 40% of organisations do not train board members and only 20 % train new board members.
The report also identified the emergence of what the author calls an elite group of organisations that provide advanced training for their employees. Based on criteria NAVEX Global provided in the survey to respondents, 12% identified their training programs as Advanced, and 50 % described them as Maturing. Nearly 40% rated their programs as Basic or Reactive.
“Organisations understand the importance of training employees to value an open and strong culture that allows for good work, and they’re tapping high quality methods to do it,” said Ingrid Fredeen, J.D., NAVEX Global’s vice president of online learning content and the report’s author. “But boards and the C-suite are being left out. The consequences of a line manager understanding how to lead with fairness and within the law, but not board members and the top of the organisation, sets organisations up for failure or allegations of hypocrisy when an incident arises. It’s important for the full organisation to be on the same page.”
“This was the first time we created a maturity index, and it’s clear that getting a program to the next level improves performance,” Fredeen said. “Organisations noted a real difference – including more of a speak-up culture, improved morale and higher trust in leadership – if they had more mature programs.”
The report, which included surveys from 644 ethics and compliance professionals, found notable gaps in training topics when comparing board training with training for the organisation as a whole. Only 12% trained board members about workplace harassment, compared with 76 % who train employees on that topic. Just 33 % train board members on conflicts of interest (compared with 76 % overall) and ominously, only 22% train board members on cyber security, compared with 69% overall.
Other key findings include: • Culture of ethics and respect: 70% of respondents said that creating a culture of ethics and respect was one of their top three objectives, with 45% putting it at the top of the list. • Compliance teams are seeking increased budget: 67% of respondents said they lacked the budget necessary to accomplish their objectives. Organisations with larger budgets were more mature and organisations with smaller budgets said they had Reactive or Basic programs. • Aligning training with risk is gaining momentum: 39% of organisations are assigning courses based on learner role or risk, compared with 15 % last year. This is essential in improving program effectiveness and efficiency.
“Failing to educate board members about cyber security is a major vulnerability – and is frankly shocking considering the sensitivity of what is on their devices,” Fredeen said. “Cyber breaches are increasingly about external entities, including state actors, seeking intelligence on corporate decision-making, plans and IP, not just accessing consumer data. Boards need to wake up to this and realise that IT solutions will not protect them if they are not trained on how to manage their digital exposure.” The report found organisations have an opportunity to further align their training with an evolving workforce. Less than one in five have included mobile learning, gamification, just-in-time learning and social learning or created portals and enhancements.
To download NAVEX Global’s 2016 Ethics & Compliance Training Benchmark Report, please click Learn more about NAVEX Global: www.navexglobal.com
“By 2020, half of the American workforce will be millennials – and they see the world differently and want different things,” Fredeen said. “That doesn’t mean millennials can’t fit into the corporate environment, but the messaging and training for them needs to be different, and program innovation takes time. Organisations need to diversify their training options now and make them mobile.”
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | PERSONNEL
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Driving Forward Human Achievement Richard Tyler International, Inc.® is a firm renowned all over the world for its outstanding management, leadership, sales and customer support skill development programs. In an interview with the firm’s founder Richard Tyler, he provides a fascinating glimpse into his career background and the remarkable journey that his company has taken over the last 27 years, as well as his vision for both businesses and individuals to succeed. Richard Tyler has earned a worldwide reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. Tyler’s background in sales, leadership, management, customer service and quality improvement has allowed him to become one of the world’s most sought-after consultants, lecturers and teachers. He is the world’s top Sales Trainer and considered to be the world’s leading Sales and Management expert.
“We are world renowned sales and management experts in all kinds of industries, and our customers come to us because they want to generate more revenue” Richard stresses. “They want to improve their leadership skills and to have better management within their organisation” he went on to say. “While many consultants and speakers are experts in their field, we have not gone into an industry where we have not been able to effectively lead and dominate because our business success teachings are core fundamental skill and knowledge requirements. These are the bedrock principles that must be in place in order to drive forward human achievement.”
When Tyler was at college in the 1970’s, he needed to make some money, so he focused on an industry he had some background knowledge in, fashion jewellery. Gold prices had risen in the 1970’s and he bought wholesale jewellery - with the aim of selling it around the campus directly to students - which gave Tyler the bug for sales. Back then, Tyler was very much in tune with what people wanted, so this led him down the path of wanting to satisfy clients’ needs, which has been his speciality ever since.
The unique advantages of Richard Tyler International, Inc.® The main difference with Richard Tyler International, Inc compared to any other consulting or training firm, is that “every single one of the course programs we have is congruent with others” Tyler affirms. Expanding on this fascinating point, he reveals that “many companies may have a set of skills that they teach, but they are not always congruent. By this, I mean that the leadership principles do not always blend with the sales and the sales do not always blend with the management or the customer service.”
After that, Tyler began to sell and develop his ideas and philosophies, and would even record himself to see how he sounded when carrying out a sales presentation. From selling fashion jewellery, Tyler developed lines of over 120 products and decided that this was the direction he wanted to head in. Tyler began to test his principles in various industries over the years from magazine publishing to the direct sales of products and services. Ultimately, he set up the company Richard Tyler International, Inc.® 27 years ago to teach what he had learned.
“Every course that I have ever developed, from management to leadership and customer support, all came from the core principles of the sales process and methodology. Sales, in my opinion, is a master communication process, and if you can master the processes and methodologies, then you can begin to apply that to every other area of your business and life.”
The journey the company has taken over the years has been phenomenal, but going back to the dawn of the company, Tyler recalls that he was advised to choose a particular niche, that is to focus solely on one industry. “For many people, that is sage advice” Tyler explains, “but I chose not to take that path because my philosophy is that I had spent many years developing sales ideas and processes, as well as leadership and management principles”.
“We developed the first management and leadership courses, not because I was setting out to design those, but because we could take the revenue of a company so far but management would get in the way due to silly or out-dated rules and regulations and leadership and management that didn’t understand how to ethically generate massive revenue consistantly. These were incongruent with creating sales and profitability. So the only way to fix that was to develop leadership and management programs that would teach the skills that were congruent with sales and revenue generation principles” Tyler goes on to explain.
These ideas and principles can work in every single industry asserts Tyler, who stresses that his own specific niche is as a sales and revenue generation expert. While product knowledge is easy to obtain, Tyler believes it is essential that people in the industry clearly understand sales processes and methodologies that will work for them, and this is the approach he takes.
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“Remember, your success tomorrow is in direct proportion to your ‘Commitment to Excellence®’ today.™”
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“There is not a single company on the face of this earth in the training and consultancy business that has developed all the core principles based on the master communication principles of sales. Every one of our teachings is synergistic and when we go in and consult, we will never say anything that does not help with increasing profits or generating massive revenue growth. As well as nothing that is not congruent with what we say to the front line troops” Tyler reveals.
Developing the earlier point about being tested along the way, Tyler goes on to reveal that an attendee has to obtain a 90% average grade point to pass, which does seem high. Tyler underlines that the title of the course is a ‘Commitment to Excellence’, not a commitment to average or good and that those who attend his courses do so “to become master sales professionals and communicators and to grow their business or company. They didn’t commit six days to get average results.”
‘Commitment to Excellence’® Sales Immersion® Sales Training Program Richard Tyler’s ‘Commitment to Excellence’® Sales Immersion® Sales Training Program is an award winning, intense, six-day sales training seminar for the professional who expects immediate results. It is one of the firm’s two master courses, the other being the Leadership Mastery™ Immersion Program™, both of which are world renowned.
Awards and accolades Richard Tyler is a two-time Best Selling Author, an Expy® Award Winner, a two-time Quilly® Award Winner, a two-time Editor’s Choice Award Winner and a C-Suite Book Club featured best selling author. He has been inducted into the National Academy of Best Selling Authors® and the National Association of Experts, Writers and Speakers™ and was selected as one of America’s PremierExperts™. Additional awards include, Top Sales Trainer In The World Award, Game Changer Of The Year Award, Distinguished Speaker Award, Who’s Who Worldwide of Global Business Leaders, American Biographical Institute “Man Of The Year Award”, Who’s Who in American Education, Outstanding Young Men of America Award, to name a few.
“What is so phenomenal about the Sales Immersion class, is that when we think about sales methodology there are really only two ways in which people learn. They either learn by spaced-interval repetition or through immersion. While the former is a wonderful way to learn, in sales you need to get all the way to the end of the sales process to put everything to use, in contrast to other skills such as leadership, management and customer support Tyler explains.
While winning an award should make you feel good, Tyler strongly believes that “awards are the recognition that you are doing things that other people find beneficial”. In addition, Tyler states “While both I and Richard Tyler International appreciate receiving recognition, as any individual or company should. The best recognition of all, is for your clients to continue doing business with you and for new clients to be attracted to you, because they know that you will do things to help them grow their business and grow their own talents.”
“So if I teach you how to ask the right questions and to do a great presentation, and you know all the closing techniques or agreement methodologies, you have the recipe for success” Tyler enthuses. With Sales Immersion®, Tyler explains that he took all the years of his knowledge, training and processes and “condensed it down into a challenging and incredibly rewarding six-day course.” Impressively, people from all over the world and from all levels within a company attend, and furthermore it is not only sales personnel that take part, but Executives, Customer Support, Operations and Product Managers also attend.
While Richard Tyler appreciates the accumulation of awards he added “The sweetest of all awards comes from seeing our clients and students achieve greater success than they thought possible”.
The specifics of the course entail a 12 to 15 hour working day, over a six-day period, and there are individual and team project activities on offer. “Everything is tested and graded along the way and there are no distractions such as parties, and even if the attendee lives in the same city within which the programme is being conducted, they have to stay on the premises because the work is so focused” Tyler stresses.
Vision for the future of Richard Tyler International, Inc.® When asked what the future holds for him and his company, Tyler quotes a top executive consultant and close personal friend, Jack Barry. Jack says that ‘if a company does not grow, it dies’ and Tyler believes this is completely accurate. Companies need to grow, as does the manner in which a firm helps the people in it to grow. Tyler’s vision for the future is to “continue to expand our operations and consulting services, and to continue to bring people into the philosophies and methodologies that we believe create positive environments for businesses and individuals to succeed”. To be true to his word, this year Tyler launched a vibrant new company division to service clients, Richard Tyler International Technologies®. The company is a digital agency that helps clients build an automated sales engine, provides sales strategy, content marketing, paid advertising, SEO, email marketing and social media content. Already the company is taking the industry by storm.
In addition, Richard Tyler International teaches the complete sales process and methodology package, that is every single thing a person needs to know, from “mastering communication skills, wants and needs analysis to the methods and steps that exist in sales and why people make decisions, as well as the agreement methods that are required to help people along in the decision process” Tyler adds. “Additionally in class, students will do generic as well as product or service specific presentations, in groups. In one section of the course, teams are given hours to take a product or service and they have to write a complete presentation incorporating all they have learned. Then they will role-play what they came up with as if they were going to go out to do it in real life. The team is graded on the result of their work.
As Richard says, “Remember, your success tomorrow is in direct proportion to your ‘Commitment to Excellence®’ today.™”
Company: Richard Tyler International, Inc.® Name: Richard Tyler Address: 5773 Woodway Dr., Suite 860, Houston, TX 77057-1501, USA Phone: Tel: (+1) 713.974.7214 Websites: www.RichardTyler.com www.SalesImmersion.com www.RichardTylerTechnologies.com
“At the end of the course, the student takes away a complete process and methodology in their head. Of course, they will not be experts in it at that moment in time. Having said this, they will be expert enough to be able to do it. This is much more effective than only learning small components over a long period of time. Our Sales Immersion process gets them immediate results. And, as they continue to practice what they have learned in whole they will get better and better.
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ROGER D. WIEGLEY L A W
576 Park Avenue, Suite 903 New York, NY 10036 1.917.517.6137 8721 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 706 Los Angeles, CA 90069 1.323.522.5333
O F F I C E S
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d/b/a Global Risk Consulting Ltd. Devonshire House, 60 Goswell Road London EC1M 7AD 44.(0)797.128.4303
MEMORANDUM TO: Prospective Client (Entrepreneur, Business, Family Office, Investor, Fund) RE: U.S. Laws and Regulations Need advice on U.S. laws or regulations affecting a company, investment, transaction or contract? Or company formation and administration in the U.S.? How do you find the right lawyer? Search the Internet and thousands of choices, perhaps tens of thousands, will appear, all extolling the experience and qualifications of the firm’s attorneys. Many of these law firms and lawyers can and do provide the high quality legal services that they advertise. What, then, distinguishes one from the rest? Clients want the level of professional competence, knowledge and experience that can be expected from a large law firm. But small businesses, and even large businesses needing advice on a small matter, do not want to pay the fees that large firms charge. Too often an invoice for legal fees comes as a shock. Client service is as much about value as it is about responsiveness and professional excellence. Roger Wiegley offers 35 years of experience, more than half of it at well known Wall Street law firms, but at fees far below those charged by large law firms. His clients, many of long-standing, seek his advice on a wide range of business and commercial legal matters. References available upon request. Law Offices of Roger D. Wiegley also owns and manages The Corporation Secretary (www.thecorpsec.com). R.D.W.
rwiegley@wiegleylaw.com
www.wiegleylaw.com
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Staff – The Greatest Asset Best for Asset Management Distribution Search
AW Louis&Company is London’s leading exclusively retained distribution & investment headhunting practice focused on the Asset Management sector. The team work on roles that are usually considered sensitive before they are announced, typically to find a senior business development specialist or senior portfolio manager for one of their six clients. In doing so, they go out and map the market which involves finding out who the better people are and taking references from impartial sources while approaching their candidates in the most discreet manner possible, usually in the form of a tap on the shoulder.
First established in 2012 and based on London’s City Road EC1, AW Louis&Company executes an average of 19 retained talent searches per year and focuses on repeat business from 6 top-tier Asset Managers and Institutional Investment Consultants. This model seems crucial to the firm’s success allowing them to limit their off-limit’s agreements to just six firms leaving the rest of the market as hunting ground for AW Louis&Company’s team of four busy consultants.
AW Louis&Company have tried very hard to hedge against market uncertainty with a chosen strategy of focusing on over-delivering with a handful of client’s particularly around the acquisition of revenue generating talent for them. “A specialist bespoke headhunting practice will always have a place in the market especially if they are trustworthy, discreet and flexible because Investment CEO’s will always need to attract that musthave portfolio manager, equity analyst or salesperson”, says Elizabeth, the firm’s researcher.
Client relationships are hugely important to the firm “and they’re all personal” says Alexander Kuttab, the firm’s founder, an ex-banker who represents the client facing side of the practice along-side senior consultant Katya Azar whom is also an ex-banker. Once assigned a search, the whole practice works in unison to execute efficiently. As the team focus exclusively on distribution & Investment roles, the in-house talent-mapping is constantly up to date. “For any one role we typically wine and dine between 20 - 25 hand-selected candidates with the sole purpose of getting inside their mind while understanding their motivations” says Katya.
AW Louis&Company are delighted to have won the Wealth & Finance International award for ‘Best Asset Management Distribution Search Firm’ and they seem set to maintain this accolade.
Company: AW Louis&Company Practice Leader: Alexander Kuttab Email: info@awlouis.com Web Address: www.awlouis.com Address: 152-160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX Telephone: +44 (0) 207 993 8714
The success of AW Louis&Company seems in part due to their unique methods of approaching target candidates: “Quite often our client’s know whom they’d like to hire but they call us in to execute the acquisition process in our own way which often see’s us approach candidates in person” says Katya.
AW Louis&Company are delighted to have won the Wealth & Finance International award for ‘Best Asset Management Distribution Search Firm’ 1608MS18 75
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European Corporate Top 100
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A Market Leader in Hospitality In 1996, I founded OzoSystem Ltd, and since then the company has evolved as a market leader in the hospitality and services industry. Thanks to the reputation of the company built over the years, new companies have been founded, and in 2016 OzoGroup was created. OzoGroup is the mother company to 10 companies; OzoMalta, OzoGozo, OzoAcademy, OzoSecurity, OzoSystem and OzoCare, OzoHospitality, OzoResources and OzoProperties.
On the 28th June 2016, OzoGroup celebrated its 20th anniversary. During the celebration event, OzoGroup announced that it will be investing €4 million in a new factory in Hal Far, enabling it to expand into new sectors, including manufacturing, and to increase its workforce by 25% from its current level of 1200 to 1500
all over the world. Continuous improvement we believe is better than delayed perfection, indeed all our employees are provided with opportunities for their continued growth and development within the company. OzoGroup are the first Maltese company to invite the Union to enroll all our employees to ensure that they all get the best benefits and rights.
The company is involved in various segments of the business that concern the outsourcing of qualified personnel, indeed we specialise in the provision of talent for sectors such as cleaning, hospitality, security and health care services. Having said this, we are always diversifying our business into other sectors and solidifying our position as market leader
2016 has been a remarkable year, because OzoGroup have been listed by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) as one of the 1000 Companies to Inspire 2016 Europe. We have also been awarded two awards by the European Business Awards, namely National Champions for Growth and Strategy and National Public Champions. Is this it? Definitely not, because OzoGroup are looking to expand our operations in Europe. We are in fact on the lookout for potential strategic partners to partner up with.
Given that Malta has always had a remarkable relationship with the UK, I am sure that both parties will reach bilateral agreements to ensure that the business between both countries keeps moving forward. I strongly believe that Brexit might bring new opportunities in Europe for our Group.
OzoGroup’s biggest challenge is finding the right personnel. Malta have the second best unemployment rates amongst countries in Europe. We have a dedicated team, that are always on the lookout for new markets to tap in when it comes to recruitment and employment.
OzoGroup have an outstanding relationship with our clients because we have always believed that customer care is fundamental to the firm’s growth and sustainability. We enjoy 95% of the HORECA industry (hotel, restaurant and catering companies) and a 95% customer retention rate. Our success is founded on the quality and consistency of our work, and we take pride in everything that we do and are relentless in our ambition for exceptional standards at all times.
Company: OzoGroup Name: Mario Muscat, founder & managing director Email: info@ozogroup.com Web Address: http://ozogroup.com/ Address: OzoGroup of Companies Ltd, 6, Qormi, QRM 3583 Malta. (EU) Telephone: +356 2247 1421
“Our biggest asset are the firm’s people, who provide services for the clients. “ Our biggest asset are the firm’s people, who provide services for the clients. OzoGroup are proud of the diversity of our workforce and we have a strong track record of providing equal opportunities and treating people in a fair, open and honest manner. OzoGroup’s hiring policies reflect our strong belief in diversity. We hire employees that come from different backgrounds and countries from
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | MARKETING
High Net Worth Marketing - What and Why? What is an HNWI? Does anyone know for sure? This is the abbreviation used for ‘High Net Worth Individual’. Why is this important to your marketing? Most CMOs will tell you that the best way to blow away a target CPA number is to market to high net worth individuals, that is promote your wares in front of an audience who can instantly afford whatever it is your company does, not waiting for next pay check, not waiting for a business partner, just ‘I like it, so I will have it’. Not only this, but HNWIs have a habit of purchasing goods and services in multiples. This is usually music to the ears of most sales directors, ergo the Board.
You will also quickly discover the immense complexity of each HNWs set up in terms of tax, holding structures, estate planning, philanthropy and more. So be prepared. It might also be wise to have senior sales personnel assigned to these tasks, preferably from a background with which your target HNWs will be familiar. Likewise, it may be beneficial to have in your arsenal several possible offerings as during the cultivation phase of your fledgling relationships you will be uncovering actual needs from your HNW which you may be able to fulfil for them quickly and efficiently. Needless to say, personalised attention, and lots of it, is an absolute must, which leads us to the next challenge.
HNWI definitions vary according to where in the world you happen to be. For example, Investopedia has it as: “The most commonly quoted figure for membership in the high net worth “club” is $1 million in liquid financial assets.” [1] ... whereas other countries have lower definitions, and some specialist agencies significantly higher. In particular, one regulatory body defines high net worth for investment s as having an annual salary over £100,000.00 per annum, whereas an international high net worth agency may define this as high as £5 million liquid assets, sterling.
Time is money, and these approaches take up an inordinate amount of person-hours. If you are unable to commit these kinds of resources to your HNW project, you might consider also a high net worth marketing agency, of which there are surprisingly few, although one of two of them do actually deliver excellent results.
To classic marketers the realm of high net worth marketing may seem like a mysterious target to reach. Many companies have tried and become disillusioned with trying to reach HNWs for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the size of the budgets necessary to achieve it as a standalone firm. Most approach it in the spirit of a customised B2C campaign, or even a B2B campaign if the targets also own significant businesses. However, these approaches have historically reaped minimal success if executed only once or twice.
In addition, you may find that most HNWs are averse to risk, especially with the current global economic considerations. Once you have your first HNW client, it is advisable to spend as much time on and with them as you are able. HNWs usually travel in the same circles, holiday in similar places, know a lot of the same people, and from this first account you may be able to segue others by way of referral. As we all know, word of mouth is the best marketing tool on the globe.
Depending on your company’s offerings, most HNWs are highly likely to have an advisor, or even several advisors, with whom you must ‘pass muster’ before you will be allowed access directly to them. This can be frustrating for most sales forces, and, unsurprisingly, most sales forces give up due to the fact that they have more pressing targets to meet, thus contributing further to the HNW project challenges.
Furthermore, in the early stages of your new relationship with your first HNW you might want to consider taking every conceivable opportunity to demonstrate exclusivity, loyalty, and a willingness to always ‘go the extra mile’. Remember too that discretion is a big word in this space, so not the best of ideas to naturally assume your new HNW client might want to mingle with others, including other HNWs, for many reasons.
However, for those lucky to have good timing, or a well-known product and suitably attractive service, direct access can be gained and very quickly they discover what all HNWs have in common. They are all ‘time poor’. They will want to be convinced of your offering, although rarely have time to address it, and are much more likely to stack up a few good things with one of their trusted advisors and crash through them in an afternoon at the Dorchester. So we see also that knowing and cultivating their advisors is key.
Ian Gordon, head of banks research at Investec commented recently: “In theory at least, your high net worth customer ought to be a source of new business account possibilities. It is about making the whole worth more than the collective individual parts.”
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That is all very well you may think. But this still leaves most companies with the problem of how to start their active efforts in the high net worth marketing stakes. And how to get past the immense effort and number of person-hours required to get things moving properly. John Winters, a senior director at SKS Media Singapore, a global high net worth marketing agency comments: “We are familiar with the challenges facing most companies looking to enter or expand within the high net worth marketing space globally. It can indeed be daunting at first due to the immense efforts required, which is why many clients come to us to help get them started.....” As an example, SKS Media have one of the largest high net worth databases on the globe which can be included in client campaigns for HNW attraction in a variety of sectors including luxury goods and services, asset and wealth management, private banking, real estate, and investor attraction for various top drawer offerings. Adding in to the digital efforts, SKS also have a sizeable ‘agent base’ globally who carry client offerings directly to their individual ‘black books’, thus generating interest through this direct one-on-one engagement, and various other channels designed to attract interest to a specific offering. Digitally, these also include ‘Intellipost’, invented and invested by SKS in 2010 whereby client messaging is left if highly targeted areas of the web known to be fertile for a cause, often exploring new niches for which clients are unlikely to have resource for example polo, super yachts, golf, luxury cars, and certain types of financial instruments only ever used by HNWs and UHNWs.
But given the subject matter, what about the ‘personalised approach’? Winters continues: “Once significant interest is collected for a particular client, the strength at SKS is in the pre-qualification and individual ‘old school’ follow up we afford each potential new prospect for a client. In the HNW space this is both expected and prerequisite to any campaign. In this regard we are extremely ‘granular’, as this is proven to be a superior option for direct ROI to the client. Many clients prefer to use us as their ‘marketing/direct sales arm’ for the HNW space as we have been doing this so long now......” So it may be of some reassurance that whether you are starting out in the HNW space, or looking for increased exposure and direct sales from this potentially lucrative area for your business, there is help at hand so that you don’t necessarily have to incur the enormous cost of doing it alone. Either way, high net worth marketing is still extremely attractive for many reasons. In fact, it you are going to promote anything it is good common sense to put it in front of an audience who can instantly afford whatever it is, right? For more information on SKS Media or any of the commentary above please visit http://sks-of-london.com 1 High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) Definition | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hnwi.asp#ixzz4FoxKI18v
They also sport a sizeable HNW social network globally through which client messages can reach their HNW targets, and a HNW Partner Network to match. Interestingly, SKS also offer the PCN (‘Private Capital Network’), through which clients can receive direct referrals via ‘word of mouth’. Also offered are the TV, Radio, Outdoor, Events, PR and Partner Development areas as a full service advertising agency, albeit only in the HNW space.
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Corporate Excellence Awards
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There is a Market for That KDM Communications is a full service, business-to-business marketing agency with international reach, specialising in the life science, medical and technical sectors. The firm was first established in 1984 and is now based in the Cambridgeshire market town of St Neots. Although many of our clients are international, it is great to be near a thriving city that has a strong reputation for scientific and technical innovation. Cambridge is also a fantastic, vibrant and cosmopolitan community, and being close has helped us to build a young, energetic and multinational team which combines scientific and marketing expertise with superb in-house language capabilities.
KDM Communications provide a full spectrum of marketing services, helping our clients to choose the right tools for what they are aiming to achieve, so that they reach their target audiences and convey their key messages effectively. In regards to our specialities, KDM Communications delight in large grey boxes full of patented technology and product lines drenched in IP and surround ourselves with clients who excel at all things technical, medical, mechanical, scientific, industrial and digital. The firm are just as happy to work with small start-ups or huge multinationals and because we are a team of scientists, we do not get lost in technical language. KDM Communications understand our clients’ products and their markets, and know exactly what their current and prospective customers want to hear. With over 30 years of experience in scientific and technical marketing, KDM Communications have established close ties across a number of markets, from diagnostics and pharma to life science research and electronics. Our reputation for providing refreshingly creative and cost-effective marketing means that we are lucky enough to gain a significant proportion of our new business through personal recommendations, but we also regularly attend conferences, exhibitions and networking events to discuss opportunities with both new and familiar faces.
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We believe that KDM Communications are unique because we keep things simple and do not overcomplicate what needs to be done. The firm have remained a relatively small agency backed by a larger group of well-established specialists that we regularly call upon for specific project expertise. Everybody here knows each other very well, so we can really concentrate on delivering sound marketing strategies and implementing highly targeted campaigns which position our clients as thought leaders, promoting their products and services. At KDM Communications, we work hard, but maintain a healthy work/ life balance, and many of our team have been with us for years. I think the key to our continued success is that the firm are passionate about science, so we are genuinely interested in what our clients are up to but most importantly, we really care about what we do. In regards to the recent Brexit outcome, we have the benefit of a very broad international customer base, with many of our clients in mainland Europe. Thanks to their confidence in our expertise, so far it is been business as usual but, as with the 2008 financial crisis, the key to weathering the storm will be offering a cost-effective service while maintaining the flexibility to cope with fluctuating marketing priorities and budgets. Our staff here at KDM Communications play a vital role in the success of the firm, the team includes an eclectic mix of marketing experts and PhD scientists, who together offer a unique combination of strategic planning, marketing expertise and technical knowledge. KDM Communications have an exceptionally low staff turnover, which means we pull together brilliantly, and our recent success and expansion is definitely down to a shared sense of pride in what the firm does and how we do it. The world as a whole has changed extensively over the last 10 years and we are now living in a digital age, where the internet and social media permeate every aspect of modern life. This has effectively revolutionised marketing for our clients and their sectors, and now a significant amount of our work is creating content for digital channels. The key to success in this virtual world is quality, the better and more widely shared content you generate, the more inbound leads it creates for clients. Going forward the future for KDM Communications looks incredibly exciting, we have already expanded by 20% this year and there are more opportunities than ever before on the horizon.
Company: KDM Communications Name: Annabel Sedgwick Email: annabel@kdm-communications.com Web Address: www.kdm-communications.com Address: Cressner House, Suite 3, 12 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1BG Telephone: 01480 405333
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | CONSULTING
Consulting Elite 2016 USA
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Staying at the Forefront of Industry Practices Technical Resources International, Inc. (TRI) is a certified Hispanic woman-owned full service contract research organisation plus (CRO+). We provide product development support services to the global drug, biologic, and medical device community through the effective combination of scientific, clinical, information technology, and communication services.
TRI has been serving private industry, government agencies, and non-profit organisations since 1979. We are headquartered in Bethesda, MD. We are an active member of the Greater Washington DC area cluster, composed of approximately 800 life science companies as well as clinical research Federal agencies, legislators, academic institutions, and service providers located in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.
TRI’s success is based on the competence of our staff denoted by their qualifications and experience; and the high level of client satisfaction as evidenced by our number of repeat business. Our staff consists of PhDs, MDs, Masters, and Bachelors who are experts in clinical operations, communications, data management & biostatistics, regulatory affairs & medical writing, quality assurance, information technology as well as safety & pharmacovigilance. Together with our expert management staff who have decades of experience, TRI manages projects with the continuous goal of exceeding our client’s expectations.
TRI has provided high quality services to clinical trial sponsors in the public and private sector for more than 36 years. We are composed of three main divisions: communications, health, and information technology.
TRI’s expertise is the product of our extensive corporate experience, continuous investment in talent and technology, and a proactive understanding of industry needs and challenges. We use our knowledge and commitment to innovation to develop solutions and risk mitigation strategies that help our clients navigate disruptive changes and keep us at the forefront of industry practices.
• The firm’s communications services cover the full spectrum from strategy development through plan implementation. Specifically, these services include marketing & communications, patient recruitment, event planning & management, design & multimedia and training. • TRI’s clinical research services include bio-pharmaceutical development support, health information services and health & environmental assessment. • Our information technology (IT) division offers a diverse range of IT services, including clinical data management, clinical data management portals and collaboration, document content and management, pharmacovigilance and drug safety systems, regulatory publishing and submission.
Company: Technical Resources International, Inc. (TRI) Email: TRI@tech-res.com Web Address: www.tech-res.com Address: 6500 Rock Spring Dr. Suite 650, Bethesda, MD 20817 Telephone: + 1 301 564 6400
“We possess the customer focus of a mid-sized company, the adaptability of a seasoned contractor, and the global footprint of a large CRO” TRI is unique because it is rare to find one company whose range of services encompasses the areas of communications, health, and information technology. We possess the customer focus of a mid-sized company, the adaptability of a seasoned contractor, and the global footprint of a large CRO.
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016 | CONSULTING
“No one knows health and fitness quite like Aquila. Since 1994, Aquila has grown to be one of the world’s leading commercial and corporate health and fitness consultants.”
Consulting Elite 2016
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www.wealthandfinance-intl.com
Award-Winning Health and Fitness Consultancy First established in 1994, Aquila is an award-winning health and fitness consultancy, operating fitness centres for corporations, government agencies and real estate developers. For the last twenty two years we have been creating, managing, designing and implementing some of the most innovative health and fitness solutions for all kinds of people and all kinds of organisations. Wherever you are in the world, or whatever you do, let Aquila take care of you and your people.
A brief history of the firm While working with CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) “Work Well” in Philadelphia, PA and Town Sports International (TSI) (NASDAQ:CLUB) in New York, NY, I. Yvan Miklin founded Aquila in 1994 as a consulting service for commercial fitness centres and corporate programs. Determined to tackle the challenges of well-known luxury fitness centres, Yvan also provided physical activities to the disadvantaged communities of Philadelphia. Partnering with one of the largest Pennsylvania state sponsored health plans to provide fitness programs in various urban communities of City of Philadelphia, Aquila started as it meant to go on.
In August 2015 Aquila was named to the Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, a list which represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy-America’s independent entrepreneurs. It was incredible honour to be part of the Inc. 5000 list. Aquila’s 68% growth between 2012 and 2015 would not have been possible without our dedicated employees, colleagues and partner community. Who we are and what we do No one knows health and fitness quite like Aquila. Since 1994, Aquila has grown to be one of the world’s leading commercial and corporate health and fitness consultants. We firmly believe that every client is unique. Which is why the firm tailors our solutions to suit your specific needs or outcomes. Covering every sector, from corporate workplace and educational institutions to public government we are experts in planning, designing, facilitating and overseeing the health and fitness offering of your organisation.
Throughout the 1990s Aquila developed knowledge and experience that we were keen to share with others. In 2000, the firm was awarded its first U.S. Federal Contract and opened our first facility in Washington, DC area for the U.S. Department of Defense Agency. A little later, we were awarded another contract with the U.S. Department of Defense in Miami, FL soon to be the firm’s new home. In 2001, Aquila relocated its main office from Philadelphia to Miami to serve Florida’s growing corporate and luxury fitness markets. That summer, the firm’s first managed spa centre opened its doors in downtown Miami.
By working closely with our clients to deliver the most effective solutions for them, Aquila is much more than just a project manager or consultant. We are a partner. Aquila is headquartered in Miami, FL with US regional offices and presence in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Dallas. Further afield, the firm’s London office serves as our European base.
In 2005, Aquila opened its first fitness centre and corporate health promotion program on the west coast for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s 8,000 employees. Meanwhile, Yvan Miklin delivered management presentations in Moscow, Russia and Singapore as Aquila opened its first centre in Dallas, Texas.
A healthier choice Aquila knows how important health and wellness is, but we also understand how difficult it can be to engage people in their own health. Founded on a principle of making high quality health and wellness accessible to all, Aquila prides itself on being able to offer the most flexible and comprehensive range of services and products, on-site or off-site. Whether you need us to source or recommend fitness equipment, or simply help you to promote health and wellness among your employees, you tell us what you want to achieve, and we will make sure you get there.
A year later, Aquila finally opened its first corporate fitness centre in the European Union. We also created a one-of a kind wellness & spa centre with world-renowned architect Carlos Ott’s in Miami, Florida. Fast forward to 2014, Aquila celebrated 20 years of innovation and excellence; and won the best Corporate Medical Wellness Award at IHRSA, and helped the US Department of Health & Human Services Agency to become the first Health Lead accredited program run by the US Healthiest Workplace Accreditation Program. To top things off, we earn a top 96% D&B Rating Score in Dun & Bradstreet Open Ratings Survey
With over 22 years of industry experience and knowledge, Aquila’s work has received some of the highest accolades in the industry, including: BOMA International “Toby” Awards, Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyle Awards & Global Leadership, Gold and Platinum Florida Amenities De-
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Real People Real Health We have been helping employers, public government agencies, and real estate properties offer award-winning fitness & wellbeing programs for over 22 years
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sign Awards, US Office of Personnel Management Quality of Life Awards, Corporate Medical Wellness Award, as well as a Health Lead Accreditation Award.
As a company, in order to provide a quality service, our staff need to embrace the firm’s brand and culture. Ultimately, we treat employees as decision-makers, and with our control not centralised in any way, so the firm’s employees are very much involved in the decision making process.
Our winning team Aquila employs exceptional people with exceptional qualities. Always curious and always passionate, the firm’s experts bring innovation and creative thinking to each new challenge. With a broad range of technical, educational and professional backgrounds, our certified health & fitness professionals possess BS’s, PT’s, MS’s, MEd’s, RD’s, MBA’s, and PhD’s. In other words, we are more than qualified to meet the needs of our clients.
In the modern management process good consultation is essential because all consultants can bring a fresh approach to projects. People who have consultants are often more vibrant and faster to respond to different problems and more likely to bring industry benchmarking ideas or suggestions to the client. Consultants always like to view things from a broader range of scale and they are trained to focus their knowledge on the specific needs of the customer. More often than that we see customers who are very narrow minded in their approach. When a consultant comes into play they have a wide range of experiences they can apply to the situation.
In addition to our main line of clients as the largest GSA public contractor in the United States, we are able to service the US Federal Government. The firm’s customers who Aquila can disclose sometimes come from a variety of public and private interests. Some of our Corporate clients include Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority, Yahoo!, the University of Pennsylvania and Vipnet (The first private mobile network operator in Croatia and VODAFONE partner).
In regards to dealing with disruptive changes in a business, a consultant can forecast and anticipate these changes because they have a broader range of expertise. Consultants can definitely be a positive of the compliment in trying to prevent any type of disruption. They are able to draw the lines from previous projects they have worked on the market.
On the Multi-Use/Developer side some of the clients Aquila has worked with include Uptown Marina Lofts, Artech Residences and Santa Maria (residential and commercial real estate developers in Miami, Florida). As previously mentioned on the U.S. Federal Government side, the company has worked with U.S. Agencies such as: the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Treasury to name a few.
Effective consultation can troubleshoot areas and anticipate the favourable outcomes for the business and the client. This is something the client cannot usually do themselves because they are looking at their own environment from their own perspective. It is very important they have a set of fresh eyes to look at things outside the box. Looking ahead Looking ahead to the future, the firm’s focus will be on moving in to technology driven applications and expanding its footprint globally with onsite employer fitness & wellbeing services. In regards to the industry, Aquila is bridging the gap between technology and applications in the health and wellbeing sector. Technology has transformed the way we monitor, maintain and promote a healthier lifestyle. Using the latest platforms, Aquila’s product suites include a variety of solutions from streamlined screenings, behaviour change programs to fitness & wellness modules, real time progress tracking, and mobile applications.
Typically, Aquila specialises in real estate which includes multi developer facilities management for closed environments like Nuffield Health. In regards to real estate developers, we help with the development of residential high rise buildings and community developments. Over the years, we have designed facilities of all shapes and sizes, helping our clients to create facilities that can adapt to the changing needs of their organisation. Furthermore, we understand that a healthy workforce means a healthy business. For that reason, the firm offers customised health solutions that provide the building blocks for the health and wellbeing of your organisation.
As a company arguably the biggest challenge will be the rising healthcare costs as people get older and more ailments occur. Bearing this in mind, the challenge will be how Aquila can make a difference. Reaching out to people through virtual web based solutions, as well as fully integrated on-site employer services is crucial in regards to educating people on self-help strategies for their wellbeing. The challenge we face is that the state of the health society is not in good shape due to sedentary lifestyles, stress, environmental factors, abundance of processed and packaged foods, and diminishing quality of water. As a company how we can reach out to a wider audience and improve their health will be a key challenge.
With an integrated series of administrative, educational, condition management, awareness strategies and clinical communication tools, our programs target some of the most common ailments, including: allergies, asthma, diabetes, chronic pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, obesity, cancer and mental health. Engaging employees Engaging employees in their wellbeing is the first step to building a healthy workforce. Aquila’s wellness and lifestyle programs are custom designed to improve the health performance of your team, while containing healthcare costs and promoting long-term change.
Company: Aquila Name: I. Yvan Miklin, President & CEO Email: info@aquilaltd.com Web Address: www.aquilaltd.com
Aquila’s certified health professionals work with your employees to educate and engage them in their personal health goals. By designing and providing onsite marketing communications our programs work holistically to promote the benefits of health and wellness to your entire organisation.
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People who left a gift in their Will to the GLFB in the past are playing a significant part in the lives of people dealing with sight loss.
Help us Build a Brighter Future
Although some of these supporters may have passed on, their foresight in leaving a legacy is making a real and lasting difference to visually impaired children and adults today. This is because gifts left in Wills are helping to provide services that reduce the isolation sight loss so often brings, enabling people to live much happier, more fulfilling and independent lives.
Insight
Isn’t that the kind of legacy we would all love to leave? Please accept our heartfelt thanks if you have already remembered the work of the GLFB in your Will. If you haven’t already done so, please do consider whether you could support our work in this very special way once you have made provision for your loved ones. All legacies, be they large or small, help to change lives. If you would like more information about gifts in Wills, please call us on telephone number 020 7620 4918 or by writing to us at the address below.
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Issue Three Autumn 2015
Every day 100 people in the UK start losing their sight – that’s one person every 15 minutes. Sight loss affects people of all ages this edition of Insight you andIn it can strike at any time. A legacy giftfind: to the GLFB will help will ensure that we can provide specialist care from the point • News of how your donations of diagnosis. Thank you.
have helped to fund local blind welfare services
• The positive and lasting difference your support is making to the lives The Greater London Fund for the Fund was established in 1921 to provide blind welfare services in London. of people withthrough sightvoluntary loss donations including gifts in wills, enable us to reach 50,000 people every year. Today, the services we fund,dealing made possible Greater London Fund for the Blind, 12 Whitehorse Mews, 37 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7QD. • Legacies: leaving a gift of a lifetime Email: info@glfb.org.uk Website: www.glfb.org.uk Registered charity number 1074958.
Wealth & Finance International | August 2016
Finest in Finance
Harley Street Accountants and Synergy Accountancy LLP Dev Vasudeva Talks About What It Takes to Provide the Best Quality Tax Services in the Industry.
Special Wealth & Finance Supplement
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Wealth & Finance International | August 2016
Harley Street Accountants and Synergy Accountancy LLP
1608MS20 92
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The Best Quality Tax Services in the Industry Finest in Finance
I am a tax specialist and spend 50% of my time tax planning for individuals and companies and 50% working with law firms helping defend clients against HMRC while heading up Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd and Harley Street Accountants Wealth Ltd.
Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd are a leading firm of accountants, statutory auditors and tax advisers in United Kingdom. We specialise in providing an extensive range of services for all businesses and non-profit organisations.
My firm has successfully completed many cases and we have numerous happy clients, indeed providing more care for them is our key objective. We are a London, Mayfair based firm, but we have offices all over the UK where we can service clients. In all that we do, staff are key to providing the best services.
We believe our objective always is more than number crunchers. We understand our clients’ businesses, so that we can provide the practical advice to help them to grow their business. Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd consists of a dedicated team, who do enough research, continue their effort to refine quality, and increase their efficiency to ensure best quality services in the industry.
With UK exiting form the EU, we are looking to help clients restructure and save more tax helping them use the money they have saved to grow. Harley Street Accountants Harley Street Accountants is a leading firm with a group of experienced accountants in London, UK. We specialise in accounting, tax, VAT and audit services to meet our every client’s needs.
Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd offer services with the best modern practices, the latest software and up-to-date knowledge of what a business owner needs to run their business profitably, whilst minimising risk.
In the firm Harley Street Accountants, we specialise in the medical sector. We look after doctors and dentists all over the UK helping them save tax and buying medical practices. We understand the changing nature of the medical industry and the needs of medical professionals as well. Thus, we ensure to offer accounting solutions to give you the best accountancy and business advice whenever you need it.
The firm work with you to carefully assess your personal or business requirements with the ultimate aim of reducing your tax liability, evaluating your needs, offering expert tax advice. Our services are carried out to ensure the highest professional and ethical standard while providing all ranges of services.
We have a dedicated team of professional London accountants who work with our medical clients closely to provide a thorough assistance on the personal finance. We offer our services to the general practitioner, surgeon, dentist, and other medical professionals.
“With UK exiting form the EU, we are looking to help clients restructure and save more tax helping them use the money they have saved to grow.”
Company: Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd Harley Street Accountants Wealth Ltd Name: Dev Vasudeva Email: dev@synergyaccountancy.com Web Address: www.synergyaccountancy.com www.harleystreetaccountants.co.uk Address: Synergy Accountancy Wealth - Devonshire House 1 Mayfair Place, Level 1, London, W1J 8AJ Harley Street Accountants Wealth - 1 Harley Street, Marylebone, City of Westminster, W1G 9QD Telephone: 020 7060 9556
Tax and helping clients save tax is key to what we do. We do not just look after that company or transaction, but we seek to look after the client and their whole family with our wealth management services, aiming to secure family wealth for the next generation. High income earners, successfully business owners are our main clients. I have two accounting firms (Synergy Accountancy Wealth Ltd and Harley Street Accountants), both of which were set up in 2009, indeed they offer accounting and tax services with the help of my team, from bookkeepers to former HMRC staff. I also work with tax lawyers and barristers. 93
Specialist Accountants for Medical Professionals Running the accounting side can be difficult for even the most experienced doctors, but not when you have Harley Street Accountants to help.
Harley Street Accountants is a leading firm with a group of experienced accountants in London, UK. We specialise in accounting, tax, VAT and audit services to meet our every client’s needs. We understand the changing nature of the medical industry and the needs of medical professionals as well. Thus, we ensure to offer accounting solutions to give you the best accountancy and business advice whenever you need it. We have a dedicated team of professional London accountants who work with our medical clients closely to provide a thorough assistance on the personal finance. We offer our services to the general practitioner, surgeon, dentist, and other medical professionals.
www.harleystreetaccountants.co.uk
At Synergy Accountancy LLP we pride ourselves on being modern thinking open and approachable accountants and tax advisors
We are a leading firm of Accountants, Statutory Auditors and Tax Advisers in United Kingdom. We specialise in providing an extensive range of services for all businesses and non for profit organisations. We are a leading firm of Accountants, Statutory Auditors and Tax Advisers in United Kingdom.
synergyaccountancy.co.uk
Winners’ Directory Business Elite 2016 - CEO of the Year Company: Company Fusion Ltd is a leading UK Recruitment Company (Head Hunters/Search & Selection) WORLDWIDE Name: Company Fusion Ltd Email: mike@companyfusion.com Web Address: www.companyfusion.com Address: 3rd Floor, Tring House, 77-81 High Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 4AB United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)207 993 3368 Most Outstanding Law Firm UK Company: Stuart Miller Solicitors Name: Majad Habib Email: Majad@stuartmillersolicitors.co.uk Web Address: www.stuartmillersolicitors.co.uk Address: 247 High Road, Wood Green, London N22 8HF Telephone: 0208 888 5225 Most Outstanding Law Firm 2016 - USA Company: Knight & Partners Attorneys at Law Name: Barney Knight Email: attorneys@cityattorneytexas.com Web Address: www.cityattorneytexas.com Address: 223 W. Anderson, Suite A-105, Austin, Texas 78752 Telephone: 001 (512) 323 5778 Most Outstanding Law Firm 2016 - UK Company: Universal Wealth Preservation Name: Steve Long Email: Enquiries@universalgroup.co.uk Web Address: www.universalwealthpreservation.co.uk Address: Dencora House, 34 White House Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5LT Telephone: 0800 542 8243
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Most Outstanding Law Firm 2016 - Philippines Company: Divina Law Name: Nilo Divina Email: nilo.divina@divinalaw.com Web Address: www.divinalaw.com Address: 8th flr. Pacific Star Bldg, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. cor Makati Ave., Makati City Telephone: 00632 822 0808 CEO of Distinction Company: Fist Line Capital, LLC Name: Simon Erblich Email: simon@firstlinecapital.com Web Address: www.firstlinecapital.com Address: 270 Greyson Place, Teaneck, NJ 07666 Telephone: 646-845-9038 Money Management Awards Company: Kreston Reeves Financial Planning Name: David Hurst Email: david.hurst@krestonreeves.com Web Address: www.krestonreeves.com/financial-planning Address: Kreston Reeves Financial Planning, Springfield House, Springfield Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 2RG Telephone: +44 (0)330 124 1399 Finest in Tax 2016 Company: Pressing Consultants Ltd. Name: SUEN, Lam Fu (Mr.) Email: cepahkg@yahoo.com Address: Flat 25C, 25/F., Capital Trade Centre, 62 Tsun Yip Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, HONG KONG. Telephone: (852) 6038 0378
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