News  

Fidelity Family Office Services, Boston, on Tuesday announced the release of new investment ownership capabilities within its Web-based Alternative Investments Administration tool, which enable family offices to more effectively track and report whether an alternative investment is owned by one or multiple family members and assign ownership percentages to each individual. Investment activity, such as capital calls, distributions and valuation updates, is then allocated to the family member based on his or her ownership percentages. Fidelity also announced that it surpassed 120 family office clients and $20 billion in assets, as of September 30, up 32% and 54% over the past year, respectively. On average, Fidelity Family Office Services' clients custody $160 million with the company.

After a drastic 11-point decline in August, investor confidence bounced back with a 12-point increase in September, according to recent data from Spectrem Group's Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index. The advance, the largest since May 2009, brings the index back to neutral territory, at minus 6. At the same time, the Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index, which measures the investment confidence and outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, rose four points in September to minus 16, which Spectrem considers "a mildly bearish reading."

Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company based in Jersey City, N.J., has unveiled a study showing growth opportunity for hedge fund managers within separately managed account structures. The report, Transparency and Liquidity: The Growth of Separately Managed Accounts in the Hedge Fund Industry, developed with Greenwich Associates, a research-based strategy management financial services firm, details growing investor demand for SMAs. The report notes, for example, that nearly 63% of investors surveyed cited the opportunity to have greater influence on SMA strategy and input in the area of risk management as one of its primary benefits. The study also provides guidance on how hedge fund managers can more effectively incorporate SMAs into their investment solutions and attract additional assets. For information go to www.pershingprimeservices.com.

Investment Professionals Inc. (IPI) of San Antonio announced the acquisition of the bank relationships of Nexity Financial Services Inc., the wealth management division of Nexity Financial Corporation. Will Mackey, former CEO and founder of NFS, has been named IPI director of business development, and David Doerflinger, former CFO and COO of NFS, has been appointed senior business development officer and regional director. Jay McAnelly remains IPI president and CEO. Founded in 1992, IPI is a private financial planning, asset management and risk mitigation firm with $4.2 billion under management for 45,000 retail and institutional clients nationwide.

Hedge funds posted their best year-to-date performance in September, according to Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta (LAB) Index Performance data. While the entire index was up 3.58% last month, the greatest positive contributor was the Credit Suisse Long/Short Liquid Index, which posted record returns of 5.41%. The LAB Event Driven Liquid Index was up 4.65%, making it the best performing sector, with gains of 8.89%. The LAB Merger Arbitrage Liquid Index posted gains of 1.96% for the month, aided by continued activity in the M&A space, according to Jordan Drachman, head of research for Alternative Beta Strategies at Credit Suisse.

Half of all U.S.-based financial services professionals are expecting higher bonuses this year than last, according to a survey released Monday by eFinancialCareers North America. Bigger bonuses are anticipated with greater frequency by those working at bulge-bracket banks, long-only asset managers and boutique banks than by employees at hedge funds, commercial banks, independent trading or research firms and professional services companies. While personal (34%) and firm performance (33%) are the main reasons for this year's anticipated bonus increases, 9% surveyed cited changing employers.

Joel Greenblatt has announced the creation of Gotham Asset Management LLC, an RIA in New York City for which he will serve as managing principal and co-CIO. Greenblatt is the author of several investment books, including The Little Book That Beats the Market. He will be part of a 16-member team that will offer a suite of domestic and international value investing strategies, with a focus on the institutional segment of the market. Robert Goldstein will serve as managing principal and K. Blake Darcy as co-CIO.

State Street Corporation, a Boston-based provider of financial services to institutional investors, announced it has increased its wealth manager services capabilities through enhancements to its proprietary platform, State Street Wealth Connect. Investment policy compliance, administrative review, trade order management and integrated account management services are among the platform's new features. State Street  has about $250 billion under management, representing about 500 wealth managers comprised of 90,000 accounts within the high-net-worth market.

Marcum LLP, an independent public accounting and advisory services firm in New York City, announced that it has merged with Stonefield Josephson Inc., a Los Angeles-based accounting firm, creating a new firm called MarcumStonefield. All 150 members of the Stonefield Josephson team will join Marcum. The combined firm  consists of more than 1,100 employees, including 150 partners in 21 locations, including Hong Kong and Grand Cayman.

Offering board membership to a departing CEO can negatively impact corporate performance, according to a report released by The Conference Board, an independent business membership and research association in New York City. The report, Retaining Former CEOs on the Board, studied 358 CEO turnovers that happened for reasons other than mergers, reorganizations, etc., in S&P 1500 firms. Findings indicate that companies that retained former CEOs on boards have relatively lower stock returns compared with those in which CEOs continued as chief executives.

According to a recent survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, 43% of private equity industry executives surveyed believe that meeting the demands of new financial regulatory standards will be a time-consuming, difficult process, while 47% believe it will be "mildly intrusive." Only 10% consider it a non-issue. "Greater oversight will likely require additional changes at many PE firms," said Shawn Hessing, national lead partner for KPMG's U.S. private equity group.

Events

The 20th Annual Private Banker International Wealth Summit, in Singapore, October 20 - 21, will help wealth managers revisit their business models to take advantage of emerging opportunities as well as equip themselves with the tools and knowledge for a sustainable bottom line. For information contact Christina Yeo at +65 6383 4688 or e-mail [email protected].

The 2010 Investment Company Directors Conference, October 25 - 27 in Chicago offers insights into the new regulatory requirements affecting fund directors and their boards. Speakers include Michael J. Mauboussin, chief investment strategist, Legg Mason Capital Management; Jennifer Johnson Bolt, executive vice president and COO, Franklin Resources Inc.; and Andrew J. Donohue, director, Division of Investment Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For information contact ICI at 202-326-5800 or go to www.ici.org.

The Association for Financial Professionals will host its 2010 AFP Annual Conference November 7 - 10 in San Antonio, pulling together CFOs, treasurers, regulators, economists and senior bankers for discussions on global economic recovery, financial regulatory reform and corporate finance strategies and innovations. Speakers include Condoleeza Rice; Richard Fisher, head of the Dallas Federal Reserve; Jami Miscik, vice chairman and president, Kissinger Associates and former global head of sovereign risk at Lehman Brothers; and Alan S. Blinder, PhD, vice chairman, Promontory Interfinancial Network and former vice chairman, Federal Reserve. For information go to www.afponline.org/annual.

On The Move

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, added Burton M. Leibert as a partner in the firm's Investment Management Practice Group in New York. Leibert was previously a partner in the Asset Management Group of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, New York. Prior to that he served at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in various positions and as counsel for ERISA Regulation and Fiduciary Responsibility at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Jocelyn Margolin Borowsky joined the Estates and Asset Planning Practice Group of Duane Morris LLP, as a partner in the law firm's Philadelphia office. Borowsky, whose clients include high-net-worth families, closely-held family businesses, corporate executives and charitable organizations, was previously at Richards Layton & Finger in Wilmington, Del. Duane Morris has more than 700 attorneys in 24 offices throughout the U.S.

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC in Jersey City, N.J., appointed five new partners, bringing the total number of Lord Abbett partners to 60. Newly appointed were: David J. Linsen, portfolio manager; Thomas B. Maher, portfolio manager; Jonathan M. Morgan, director of institutional services; Lawrence B. Stoller, deputy general counsel; and Stacy P. Allen, chief administrative officer. One of the nation's oldest money management firms, Lord Abbett has  $102 billion under management.

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC in New York City has been picked to run a new global stock mutual fund for Boston-based Eaton Vance Corp. Called the Richard Multi-Market Equity Strategy, the fund is named after Richard Bernstein, who was chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch & Co., NY, until leaving in 2009 to start his own advisory firm.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC announced the appointment of Keith A. Rhodus as a wealth advisor and vice president in the firm's Dallas office, which manages over $1 billion in assets for high-net-worth families, foundations and institutions. Rhodus previously spent four years as a private wealth advisor for Merrill Lynch and also worked as a financial consultant for Smith Barney. Established in 1939, Neuberger Berman manages about $169 billion for individuals and institutions.

First Western Trust Bank appointed wealth management veteran Harold Pine to serve on the firm's portfolio management team in Cherry Hills, Colo. Pine previously was CIO for Jess S. Morgan Company, a Los Angeles-based investment management firm, and before that, held investment management executive positions with U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo and UBS. First Western Trust Bank, headquartered in Denver with offices in Colorado, Arizona, and California, has more than $4 billion under management.