Spy has woken up to another terror attack across the world. This time the city of Barcelona is reeling and as of writing, the markets are volatile. The Vix has gone mad, up 30%. It really is thoroughly depressing to read the news at times. Has the whole world gone mad that it thinks this sort of behaviour is acceptable or even going to achieve anything meaningful? For investors, these sorts of incidents rarely make any difference to the market except in the short-term. It took the threat of imminent nuclear strike to put a dent in Asian markets and even that did not last long. No, the solution to this one is: keep calm and carry on. Separate the emotional from the fundamental and stick to the road. Now, where is that draft of Tui East IPA in the frosty pint glass?
It has come to Spy’s notice that Timothy Thiam, previously at BNP Paribas Wealth Management has moved across to DBS to take up a role as investment counsellor. Spy has noticed that the role of IC has grown ever more important for asset managers as control of fund selection becomes tighter and access to private bankers that much harder.
Hat-tip to boutique, Singapore-based asset manager, SEA Asset Management, as it has reached a milestone in its development. The firm, headed up by Alexander Zeeh, a Julius Baer alumnus, has reached $100m in AUM, neatly coinciding with its 10th anniversary. The firm is best known for its expertise in Asian short duration high yield bonds.
Old Mutual Global Investors caught Spy’s eye this week with a snappy infographic on the explosive growth in electric cars. The firm is claiming that 2 million EVs have been sold to date and that number looks set to grow rapidly. The challenge with any new technology is deciding which horse to back. If you can, Spy recommends investing in cobalt. All electric batteries for cars rely on cobalt. Sadly, conflict-cobalt is all too common and much of it is mined in the world’s favourite holiday hotspot – The Democratic Republic of Congo. As one wag put it to Spy, “There is no such thing as a pure electric vehicle. Many millennials are simply swapping one form of pollution for another.”
Is that a hot air balloon-size bubble Spy hears inflating? It would be easy to have a go at the number of ETFs launched, which has been relentless for years. But no, Spy saw this chart from Bloomberg which told an even richer truth. The real bubble may be in Indices. After all, ETFs need something to be based on. According this data, the number of indices now exceeds the number of stocks listed in the US. This is not the only absurd situation. Remember, equity funds also outnumber of equities available…
As the entire industry starts gearing up for the second half of the year rush, no doubt seminars are being planned across the region. Presentations are being prepared. Decks rushed to the printers. Indeed, FSA will be hosting its own events in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia in September. It is timely, therefore, that Spy came across this extremely apt cartoon. Many a word spoken in jest. Spy’s plea to the industry: if you are going to present your ideas, take a little care to make it interesting. (And at the very least watch a TED talk or two before getting up on stage…)
Finally, at the end of July, Pimco‘s new head of Asia-Pacific, Kimberley Stafford, relocated to Hong Kong where she will be based, Spy has learned. After she settles in, it will be interesting to hear what the bond giant will be up to in Asia. Spy’s roving photographers have seen Pimco return to the consumer advertising market in Singapore. This rather generic income advert was seen a local paper:
Until next week…
