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Fiat chairman to head family’s investment company

February 14, 2011

John Elkann, head of family-controlled Fiat, has taken over as chief executive of the family’s investment company Exor, adding to his current role of chairman.

In a statement, the Turin-based investment company said that besides Elkann’s appointment as chief executive, it had also appointed its first chief investment officer. Tobias Brown, former investment officer for late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, is to take over Exor’s worldwide investment activities.

Top family office to split investment function

February 7, 2011

Multi-family office HQ Trust is to split its investment advice between two of its managing directors after the departure of its chief investment officer.

Multi-family office HQ Trust is to split its investment advice between two of its managing directors after the departure of its chief investment officer.

Managing directors Fritz Becker and Christian Stadermann will oversee the work of Markus Stadlmann, the former chief investment officer who has left earlier to join Barclays Wealth to head their discretionary investing efforts.

A spokeswoman for HQ Trust said Stadlmann wouldn't be replaced.

Frontier markets could have 11% growth, reveals study

January 12, 2011

Frontier markets could see an annual growth of 11% over the next 10 years, predicted asset managers Swiss & Global Asset Management, outperforming many developed and mature emerging markets.

Good economic prospects, strong demography and limited penetration by the stock market when compared to the overall GDP are some of the factors that can help these frontier markets grow, said the study.

Swiss family entrepreneur behind new bank initiative

December 14, 2010

Philippe Gaydoul, grandson of Swiss supermarket entrepreneur, Karl Schweri, is one of three prominent financiers linked to the launch of a new bank in Switzerland.

Philippe Gaydoul, grandson of Swiss supermarket entrepreneur, Karl Schweri, is one of three prominent financiers linked to the launch of a new bank in Switzerland.

Reports in the Swiss media say Gaydoul has teamed up with Marcel Rohner, the controversial former chief executive of UBS, and Thomas Matter, the former boss of local bank Swissfirst.

Gaydoul will take a 9.5% stake in the new venture, which has yet to be named.

Trust me, your investment managers cannot beat the market

September 6, 2010

In the recent Managing Family Wealth video series broadcast on campdenFB.com, family office founder Bertrand Coste said: "The reason we have a family office is so our investment strategy is more transparent and so we don't have to rely on the advice of private banks or independent advisors."

Hedge funds reassert alpha male status

September 6, 2010

Following the financial crisis and huge redemptions, families are finally beginning to invest in hedge funds again reports Michael S Fischer

For much of the last decade, family offices, in common with other investors, were lulled into believing that hedge funds or a diversified portfolio of hedge funds would deliver consistent, predictable return streams. The events of 2008 gave the lie to that notion as many hedge funds were very highly leveraged, wreaking havoc on portfolios.

Finance: Stock buy backs - who are the real beneficiaries?

August 26, 2010

Stock buybacks have returned to prominence of late, but what are the reasons for family businesses to go down this avenue? Darrell Delamaide invesigates

After last year's dramatic decline, stock buybacks have surged in 2010 as companies bank on the fact that their stock is a good investment. It is also a way to return money to shareholders, because it juices earnings per share by reducing the denominator, which, all other things being equal, will then lift the share price. At the very least it can prevent dilution when shares are distributed for stock options or other purposes and it is this aspect of stock buybacks that is particularly important in family-controlled companies.

Comment: Rich continue to pile money into Credit Suisse

July 22, 2010

Today’s second quarter results from Credit Suisse showed that Switzerland’s biggest bank in terms of market capitalisation continues to attract money from the world’s wealthy, including business-owning families and family offices, writes David Bain.

Today's second quarter results from Credit Suisse showed that Switzerland's biggest bank in terms of market capitalisation continues to attract money from the world's wealthy, including business-owning families and family offices, writes David Bain.

Nearly SFr12 billion of net new money flowed into the bank's core private-banking unit in the quarter, which compliments the already SFr13 billion that swelled the private bank's assets under management in the first quarter.

JCB invests despite fall in sales

July 14, 2010

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford has promised his family-run business will invest in the future despite announcing poor final-year sales for 2009.

Amid the deepest ever recession in the global construction equipment industry, the UK-based manufacturing firm saw sales drop by a third to £1.35 billion last year but was able to increase profit before tax marginally to £29 million.

Editor's note

June 18, 2010

John Maynard Keynes, that most famous of economists, has received a lot of renewed coverage since the financial crisis as most governments have followed his proposal that when suffering a downturn, they should borrow and spend money to boost economic activity.