"The more we delay the fundamental reforms required by this system, the possibility of accumulating sufficient resources for the new generation of Mexicans will be reduced," warned Carlos Ramírez, president of the Consar, at a recent gathering of industry professionals.
CCR Monthly Approval Report – February 2015
March 2, 2015 by
A total of 14 products were added in February to the list of approved instruments to receive investments from Chilean Pension Managers (AFPs). Schroders led with eight mutual funds, all of them equity products, followed by PIMCO with two mutual funds and First Trust with two ETFs. Eastspring and Fidelity completed the list each with one approval mutual fund.
Experts agree: Mexican pension system in need of urgent reform
February 18, 2015 by
Experts gathered at forum hosted by Principal Investments agreed that the first generations of Mexicans who retire with their Afore accounts will not receive a decent pension. The average OECD replacement rate is 54% (pension as a percent of salary) compared with just 28.5% in Mexico.
CCR may review funds of scandal-rocked HSBC at February meeting
February 18, 2015 by
A review of the "reputational risk" of HSBC - again in the news due to a potential tax-evasion scandal over its handling of high-net-worth accounts - may be on the agenda of the regulatory agency that determines eligibility to receive AFP investments.
CCR Monthly Approval Report – January 2015
February 2, 2015 by
A total of 14 products were added in January to the list of approved instruments to receive investments from Chilean Pension Managers (AFPs). PowerShares led with 11 equity ETFs domiciled in the USA.
Mexican Finance Ministry goes all in on open architecture for mutual funds
January 29, 2015 by
The Finance Ministry unveiled an open-architecture scheme that would prevent mutual fund managers from working exclusively with only one mutual fund distribution company or entity (usually the bank that owns them), and ensure that any distributor willing to offer a manager's fund should be allowed to do so.
Delay in kickoff of independent-worker pension scheme impacts AFP Planvital and BTG
January 20, 2015 by
AFP Planvital is about to become a direct victim of the delay, since it would have benefited from independent workers' new compulsory flows. The situation complicates any potential plan by the AFP's owner - BTG Pactual - to sell the AFP to a third party.
State and municipal pensions barred from investing in local funds with international exposure
January 5, 2015 by
Local fund managers had been distributing their internationally-focused products to these Brazilian institutional investors through September 2014. However, a technical note (07/2014) issued by the MPS clarified that the RPPSs are not permitted to invest in international markets, even if the vehicle is local.
CCR Monthly Approval Report – December 2014
December 30, 2014 by
While Dimensional and Lazard led with four mutual funds registered in the month, BlackRock and Invesco each won approval for three funds of their own.
Local expert: The real impact on cross-border managers of eased international-investment rules in Brazil
December 22, 2014 by
A long-awaited, momentous change came about last week in Brazil, when its securities regulator made it much easier for the affluent to invest internationally via locally-domiciled products. Seeking reaction to the news, Fund Pro Latin America spoke with the longtime manager of a multinational fund firm - a Brazilian native sensitive to the needs and demands of Brazilian investors as well as the competitive environment for global firms. In this wide-ranging, 1,200-word article - what we would consider required reading for cross-border managers - the executive (whose name is revealed in the article) discusses what's really changed with the new regulations, the importance of the changes for cross-border managers, the likelihood of international diversification amongst the affluent, other market sectors that will soon be gaining easier access to international markets, the size of the "new" addressable market in light of these changes, the potential for - and wisdom of - new efforts by players from abroad setting up shop in Brazil, the competitive environment for funds vs. new ETF and depositary-receipt offerings that already provide some access to international markets, and what he considers to be the minimum requirements for success for cross-border firms considering Brazil.
