Deals and People November 23, 2015

Asset International Announces Hiring of Nine Executives and Staff

The parent company of PLANSPONSOR says the appointments were made in support of an expansion plan.
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Asset International (AI) a global leader in providing critical data, business intelligence, and information services to the worldwide investment management industry, today announced the hiring of five executives, two senior staff and two advisers in support of the growing global demand for rapidly delivered insightful, relevant, and reliable, market intelligence and data.

Joel Mandelbaum, chief executive officer of Asset International states, “This is a big step toward creating the global leader of business intelligence and digital media in the investment management space. This is a proven team with deep commercial experience and repeated success. Included among the firms from which they joined Asset International are: Bloomberg, Bottomline Technologies, Openlink, Ion Trading, and Cerulli Associates. These joiners, when coupled with our excellent staff and deep client community, will drive this business far, and enable us to help our clients advance their objectives with their clients.”

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Mandelbaum’s appointment as CEO and president of Asset International was announced in late August this year.

Tony Salewski, Managing Director at Genstar Capital, Asset International’s majority investor, says, “Genstar is excited about the increased depth of talent and experience these new hires bring to Asset International. AI presents an exciting opportunity for growth in the asset management space and we believe the decision by our new executive team members to join AI is an endorsement of Joel’s proven track record and the significant and growing value we provide to our clients.”

“Only a sponsor with a long-term view on value creation and confidence in the company and the team would embrace such a swift and material investment in people. I am thrilled to be working with such a partner in Genstar Capital and to be reunited with this team” says Mandelbaum.

Every day, with its data, analytics, media, and research, the 11 business units of Asset International touch 175,000 professionals across 1,000 clients that include almost all of the world’s largest asset owners, asset managers, custodians, and corporate retirement plan sponsors with aggregate assets in excess of $30 trillion. Every month, Asset International’s business units conduct client transaction cost analysis, examining 500 million equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange trades with an aggregate value of $2 trillion dollars.

NEXT: New members of Executive Committee

Terry Beadle is chief revenue officer responsible for Sales, Account Management, Professional Services, and Client Support and a member of the Executive Committee. Most recently, Beadle was at Bloomberg. Prior to Bloomberg, he held various executive positions at Wall Street Systems including managing director of Professional Services, managing director of Treasury Systems Products and managing director of Global Treasury Sales.

Tony White is chief content officer, global product manager and a member of the Executive Committee. Most recently, White was business development director at Bottomline Technologies. Previuosly, he held various executive positions at Wall Street Systems including managing director of Software Development, managing director of Account Management and managing director of FX Trading Products, including the Wallstreet FX platform and the Electronic Settlement Network.

Andrew Guillette is chief Data and Research officer, global product manager, and a member of the Executive Committee. Most recently, Guillette was chief operating officer of Cerulli Associates and has held various asset management research, planning, and marketing positions with Columbia Investments, John Hancock, and Fidelity Investments.

Seth Cohen is senior adviser to the Executive Committee. Cohen was formerly the CFO of Newtek Business Services, Inc. and a trustee of the City of New York’s Public Pension Funds.

NEXT: New appointments

Garry Hodnett is director of Human Capital. Most recently, Hodnett was director of Human Resources at Ion Trading. Previously, he was director of Human Resources at Wall Street Systems.

Leonie Alsop is director of Global Marketing. Most recently, Alsop was SVP, global head of Marketing at OpenLink Financial. She was the former global head of Marketing Operations at Temenos and global head of Marketing at Wall Street Systems.

Allison Joy Phillips was appointed executive assistant to the CEO. Phillips was formerly a sales professional at SuperDerivatives, Ion Trading and Wall Street Systems.

Mandelbaum also announced that Avi Nachmany has been appointed senior adviser to Strategic Insight, which he founded 30 years ago and where he was most recently executive vice president, director of Research.

John Lee has been appointed adviser to Global Custodian, The Trade and LiquidMetrix. Lee founded The Trade 10 years ago and was most recently managing director, Europe for Asset International.

About Asset International Asset International (AI) provides critical data, business intelligence, and information services to the global investment management industry. AI delivers proprietary data and analytics, as well as marketing solutions that target global asset managers. The company’s client base includes more than 500 of the most prominent names in the asset management industry. Its recognized data brands include Strategic Insight, Investor Economics, Corporate Insights, LiquidMetrix, FWW, and Plan for Life. AI’s portfolio of leading editorial titles includes brands such as PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Chief Investment Officer, Global Custodian, and The Trade. The company’s headquarters are in New York and it maintains offices in Stamford, Connecticut; Boston; the San Francisco Bay area; London; Toronto; Munich; Melbourne, Australia; and Hong Kong. AI is backed by Genstar Capital. For more information, visit www.assetinternational.com.

About Genstar Capital Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 20 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of operating executives and strategic advisers to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of more than $5 billion and targets investments focused on selected sectors within the financial services, software, industrial technology, and health care industries.
Data and Research November 23, 2015

Investors Overly Focused on Short-Term Returns

Research from TIAA-CREF shows a persistent focus on short-term returns leads to poor decisionmaking.
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A new TIAA-CREF survey finds more than half of investors look to short-term performance factors when making investment decisions, while nearly one-third mistakenly believe all investments carry the same overall level of risk.

Accordingly, TIAA-CREF warns the focus on short-term financial performance and misunderstandings about the nature of investment risk may have an impact on American investors’ financial well-being, especially in the long-term effort to plan for retirement.

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Overall, 36% of investors look to one-year performance as the “most important indicator of an investment’s return,” with an additional 16% looking to quarterly performance as most important. TIAA-CREF finds nearly half of investors have purchased a fund “based on its performance during the previous year rather than looking at its performance over a longer-term investment horizon such as five or 10 years.”

Roger Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, says it’s critically important for people to look at the big picture when evaluating investment performance. “One year or one quarter is a short period of time when you consider that many individuals are investing for 30 years or more,” he adds. “Fortunately, investors can avail themselves of a range of resources, including professional financial advice, which can help them make well-informed investment decisions and build portfolios designed to meet their specific financial goals—whatever they may be.”

NEXT: Grappling with diverse concerns 

According to TIAA-CREF, investors should be less focused on recent bouts of market volatility and more focused on the key concepts of diversification and asset allocation—building a more holistic understanding of the important role that taking risk and accepting some periodic short-term losses plays in generating a stable retirement outlook.

This state of affairs is still someway off, TIAA-CREF notes, as among those surveyed, a strong majority (71%) believe they can completely eliminate investment risk by having a diversified portfolio. “In fact, while a diversified portfolio can help to manage investment risk, there is no way to eliminate it altogether,” TIAA-CREF says. Nor would one want to, given the yin-yang relationship of risk and return. 

“Similarly, although investors should maintain an appropriate level of risk in their portfolios, many are unclear about how that works,” the report explains. Currently 53% of U.S. investors think that higher risk guarantees higher returns.

TIAA-CREF finds all investors would benefit from better access to financial education about these topics, but Millennials could use the most help. Among this age cohort, 40% of all respondents misunderstand the nature of various asset classes, TIAA-CREF says, indicating that they believe that all investments offer the same level of risk. At the same time, 64% of Millennials think that higher risk guarantees higher returns, compared with 53% for the general investing population.

NEXT: Focus remains on outcomes

“Despite some misconceptions about investment performance, American investors have a clear picture of what they want from their portfolio,” TIAA-CREF explains. “Two-thirds of investors believe it’s more important that their portfolio allows them to achieve their life goals, such as funding a comfortable retirement or paying for a college education, versus one-third who place more importance on a portfolio that consistently meets specific investment criteria, such as a certain percentage return.”

One specific piece of advice plan sponsors and advisers might offer to the workplace retirement investors: the middle of a period of market volatility is likely not the most effective time to rebalance the portfolio. Instead, most advisers’ recommend investors “ride out market fluctuations as part of a long-term investing strategy,” TIAA-CREF says. Another appropriate approach might be to tie the rebalancing date to a regular time of year, perhaps a birthday, cited by 21% of advisers. Other key times to reconsider the level of risk taking may be after a life change, such as marriage, the birth of a child or grandchild, or the death of a spouse (20% of advisers). 

Ferguson concludes that having a well-defined vision of one’s financial goals is a good first step for investors. “Once you have set your priorities, a financial adviser can help you find the approach that is right for you,” he concludes.

More information about the 2015 TIAA-CREF Built to perform study is here. 

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