Daily News Analysis
Michigan Wealth Firm Expands To New York, Names Chief Operating Officer
13 May 2013
Birmingham, MI-headquartered Schechter Wealth Strategies has hired Stephen Blocki as chief operating officer, while Robert Langer fills the newly-created role of managing director of its recently-launched New York office. Blocki spent the last 20 years at Dürr Systems, where he served as head of the environmental division business, helping the firm expand beyond North America into Mexico, China and Korea . Langer has spent the last ten years managing and running hedge funds.
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Greenleaf & Burleson Wealth Management Appoints Managing Director
13 May 2013
Petaluma, CA-headquartered Greenleaf & Burleson Wealth Management has appointed Donnie McCleskey as a managing director. McCleskey will focus on coordinating and expanding growth in employer-sponsored retirement plans, while also working with a select group of high net worth clients . McCleskey has about seven years of experience in the financial services and retirement planning industry, having worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg Finance and Advisory Consulting Group.
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Hedge Fund Billionaire Philip Falcone Agrees $18 Million Settlement With SEC
13 May 2013
Philip Falcone, who made a fortune by speculating on the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market, has agreed to pay an $18 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for manipulating the market and using client funds to pay his taxes, according to media reports. In June last year, Falcone was sued by US regulators for allegedly borrowing money improperly from his fund to pay his tax bill . He was also accused by the SEC of breaching rules by offering major investors preferential treatment when Harbinger was restructured in 2009.
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Blackstone Builds Expertise In Aerospace, Defense Sectors
13 May 2013
New York-listed Blackstone has brought in Jim Albaugh as a senior advisor to strengthen its private equity activities in the aerospace and defense sectors. Albaugh, who previously served as chief executive and president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will also advise other businesses and clients across Blackstone’s platforms, the firm said . At Boeing, Albaugh also served as president and CEO of Boeing defense, space and security; senior vice president of Boeing and president of the space and communications group; and president of Boeing space transportation.
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Global Alternatives Firm To Buy New York-Based AREA Property Partners
13 May 2013
Los Angeles, CA-based Ares Management, the global alternative asset manager and SEC-registered investment advisor, is acquiring AREA Property Partners, a New York-based real estate management firm investing across North America, Europe and India. The transaction includes the acquisition of the minority stake in AREA held by National Australia Bank . Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and investor approval.
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Russell Investments Unveils Online Asset Class Dashboard
13 May 2013
Russell Investments has launched the Asset Class Dashboard, an online tool the firm said can help advisors “establish context and perspective” with clients when evaluating asset class performance. The Asset Class Dashboard compares current 12-month returns to historical and typical returns for a sample of asset classes, represented by their relevant indexes . The dashboard gives a visual representation of these returns, helping to simplify comparisons.
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Myth And Reality In Advisory Firm Valuations - New White Paper
13 May 2013
The Alliance for RIAs, a group of such firms which collaborates on issues like growth strategies, has released a whitepaper laying out ways advisors can make their businesses more valuable to external buyers. The paper, called Myth vs Reality: What is Your Independent Advisory Firm Really Worth?, is the third in a series focused on creating value at advisory firms . It describes a concept called the “multiple gap,” which aRIA says often results in advisors thinking their firms are worth more than they really are.
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Atlantic Trust Makes Another Senior Hire In Houston
10 May 2013
Atlantic Trust, the private wealth management division of New York-listed Invesco, has added Jennifer Kane to its Houston, TX, office as a senior vice president and relationship manager. Kane has over 12 years of industry experience and joins from Front Barnett Associates, where she served as a lead portfolio manager and member of the firm’s investment committee . Previously, she was a junior portfolio manager and portfolio analyst at Atlantic Trust's Chicago, IL, office, and a portfolio analyst with Fayez Sarofim & Company in Houston.
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BNY Mellon Investment Management Creates Senior Performance Analytics Role
10 May 2013
BNY Mellon Investment Management has appointed Bruce Feibel as head of performance analytics - a new role at the firm in which he will oversee performance and risk analysis processes. Reporting to Cynthia Steer, head of manager research and investment solutions, Feibel will analyze the factors that drive returns and create risks for investment strategies and portfolios, BNY Mellon said . Feibel joined BNY Mellon in 1999 and prior to his new role was head of strategy for the global investment services business.
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HighTower Appoints Director In Los Angeles From Morgan Stanley
10 May 2013
Chicago, IL-headquartered HighTower has brought in Frank Epinger from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management as an executive director in Los Angeles, CA. The firm confirmed to Family Wealth Report that the move is part of its plan to grow in California . At Morgan Stanley, Epinger was a branch manager and senior vice president in Pasadena, CA.
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News and Features
Latest News
Goldman Sachs AM Launches Alternatives Mutual Fund
Mutual Fund Asset Flows "Healthy" But Losing Pace - Morningstar
Massachusetts Wealth Firm Appoints Research Director
BNY Mellon Combines Bank, Brokerage Custody Into Single Service Offering
Webster Private Bank Creates Chief Investment Strategist Role
Comment and Analysis
EXCLUSIVE: Citi Private Bank: Reaping Rewards From Client Feedback
WE Family Offices Sets Out To Reshape The Landscape Of UHNW Wealth Management
FEATURE: A Look At The Mexican High Net Worth Client Market
EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Carroll On His First Few Months At The Helm Of GenSpring
EXCLUSIVE: Industry Leaders Debate Hot Topics Of Client Centricity, Communications
Expert Commentary
- Top Story
- Opinion of the Week
- Industry Insight
- View from the Top
- Editor's Choice
- Investment Strategy
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Data Crunching Delivers The Investment Goods For FQS
As markets have been volatile, patchier liquidity will mean that capacity constraints on some hedge fund strategies have to be closely monitored to protect performance, FQS Capital, the hedge funds arm of a family office business, says.
Tom Burroughes
17 May 2013
Guest Opinion: An Earnings Report Every Hedge Fund Manager Should Review
Here Diane Harrison, principal and owner of Panegyric Marketing, argues that the debate over fees in the hedge fund industry often focuses on the wrong topics.
Diane Harrison
20 March 2013
Q&A: Rockefeller & Co's Jimmy Chang On The Investment Environment
Here, Jimmy Chang, a senior portfolio manager and a managing director of Rockefeller & Co, discusses some issues around investing in the current environment.
Harriet Davies
4 April 2013
INTERVIEW: Regular Risk Reviews Gain Traction In The Family Office World
The period between 2008 and 2012 saw an uptick in risk reviewing business at New York’s Rothstein Kass Family Offices Group, says partner Evan Jehle.
Harriet Davies
9 April 2013
FEATURE: Twins And The Business Of Family
Building functionality into a family’s business affairs involves defining each person’s role but it’s never easy to think differently about family members who were children at the dinner table, but are now adults around the board table.
Charles Lowenhaupt
8 April 2013
Guest Opinion: Diversification In The Age Of Globalisation
Marc Odo, director of research at software and business intelligence firm Informa Investment Solutions, discusses why diversification failed during the credit crisis.
Marc Odo
25 March 2013


