...SUMMARY ANALYSIS Barclays Bank PLC Credit Rating: AA-/Negative/A-1+ Primary Credit Analysts: Richard Barnes London (44) 20-7176-7227 richard_barnes@ standardandpoors.com Secondary Credit Analyst: Claire Curtin London (44) 20-7176-7032 claire_curtin@ standardandpoors.com Additional Contact: Financial Institutions Ratings Europe FIG_Europe@ standardandpoors.com Rationale We consider that U.K.-incorporated Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays) has a broadly diversified business profile, with a strong franchise across retail, commercial, and investment banking. It has progressively expanded outside its domestic market through acquisitions and organic growth. For example, non-U.K. customer lending represented 54% of the group total at June 30, 2009. Excluding nonrecurring gains and a loss on own debt, Barclays reported a £4.4 billion pretax profit for the first nine months of 2009, which was a 116% increase on the same period in 2008. The performance of the retail and commercial banking activities was depressed by elevated impairment charges, but this decline was more than offset by increased earnings from Barclays Capital, which benefited from favorable market conditions and the September 2008 acquisition of Lehman’s North American businesses. Barclays Capital contributed 62% of the group’s underlying earnings in the first nine months of 2009, which is a materially higher proportion than Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services would expect in a normal environment. Nevertheless, we consider...
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...wHaT’s YOur iNTErEsT? At BlackRock, you can have the career you want – challenging, rewarding and evolving. Whatever your interest, there is a place for you to grow here – across businesses, backgrounds and borders. Just look at some of the opportunities across our global platform: advisOrY & CLiENT suppOrT Combine integrated risk analytics and capital markets expertise with Blackrock’s industry-leading investment platform to provide tailored, unbiased advice to governments, corporations and many of the world’s largest investors. advisory & Client support roles include Client Services and Financial Markets Advisory (FMA). wHO is BLaCKrOCK? Blackrock is the world’s preeminent asset manager and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional and individual investors around the world. aNaLYTiCs & risK utilize deep market knowledge and quantitative financial techniques to offer tailored, unbiased advice, risk management and investment tools to global investors and governments of all sizes. analytics & risk roles include Financial Modeling Group (FMG), Portfolio Analytics Group (PAG), and Risk & Quantitative Analysis (RQA). GraduaTE prOGraM The Graduate program is a global two year program designed to acclimate and train new hires. Graduate orientation helps to build a common knowledge base, prepare analysts for their role at Blackrock and create a peer network. analysts hear from experts on a variety of topics...
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...The Portfolio Analytics Group or (PAG) within Blackrock Solutions utilises Blackrock’s proprietary analytics tools and models, such as the Green Package reporting suite, to measure risk on both a security and portfolio level. This area immediately attracts me as this is exactly the roles and responsibilities that i am looking for with regards to an internship Summer Internship with yourselves. The PAG Analyst role is central in supporting Blackrock’s investment process, producing reports and analytics utilised by all areas of the firm, giving rise to a unique opportunity to see how all functional areas operate and link together. The role is also central in supporting BlackRock Solutions external clients across their investment process and risk management oversight. Therefore this does not only fulfil and provide insight into all the areas that i am so very interested and intrigued by, but also gives a much broader perspective to the wider functions of BlackRock. BlackRock is widely recognized for its disciplined investment process and rigorous risk management. Since its inception, we have focused on the assessment of security and portfolio-level risks for investment decision making as well as for efficient transaction execution. As a result, BlackRock developed an integrated suite of investment management tools that provide solutions to these many varied facets of the business model. All these points help to culminate together in understanding what attracts me personally to...
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...BLACKROCK LAUNCHES GLOBAL INITIATIVE OFFERING INVESTORS PRACTICAL ACTIONS FOR TODAY’S UNCERTAIN MARKETS INVESTING FOR A NEW WORLD™ Helps Investors Capture Opportunity Through More Dynamic, Diverse Portfolios Chairman and CEO Laurence D. Fink Says Asset Managers, Business and Government Must “Turn Short-Term Savers into Long-Term Investors” New York, February 29, 2012 – BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today launched a multifaceted global initiative that offers investors practical actions for building more dynamic, more diverse portfolios that these times require. Investing for a New World™ is designed to help investors large and small confront the challenges of low yields and volatile markets in today’s complex investment environment. The multi-media initiative – the first of its kind by BlackRock – includes a range of ongoing communications for retail and institutional investors, partners and financial advisors, as well as investor education and advertising in a variety of digital, print and social media around the world. “Investors are looking for answers in a new world where the returns they once took for granted are constrained by historically low yields, market volatility and shifting investment patterns. With today’s longer lifespans and uncertain returns, people are concerned about outliving their money in retirement and funding their children’s education. Wherever I go, the question I hear most often is: ‘So what do I do with my money?’ and we’re stepping forward to provide...
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...of such, was to approve new fund options for presentation to the FARM committee. Stephen Peirce, Mercer representation, suggested that the committee review the updated Investment Options documentation dated May 10, 2017, which highlighted a few changes since the March 23, 2017 version. Stephen first outlined the options in relation to tier one. The tier one option, as suggested by Mercer, includes target date funds. A suite of target date funds consists of funds in 5 year increments (i.e. 2020 fund, 2025 fund … 2050 fund, 2055 fund) and as time passes, the asset mix of each fund becomes more conservative. The proposed suite is Blackrock, which is the largest money manager in the world and invests the most target date assets in Canada, has an A+ rating and is the...
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...(Zhengzheng) Si 614.886.5028 zhengzheng.si@rhsmith.umd.edu BlackRock Impact Investing Dear hiring manager: My name is Veronica Si and I am a Master of Finance from University of Maryland. I am writing to express my interest in the impact investing analyst at your firm. I am interested in BlackRock that offers me the opportunity to work with the best investment managers in the world. I will bring strong analytical skills and multitask abilities I have gained through my academic and professional experience for this position. Analytical Skills * I formed a portfolio with a team that focuses on long term performance for prudent investors and won 3rd prize through periodical presentations to investment committees. * During PwC internship, I analyzed the financial performance and social impact of more than 100+ companies in both the wind power and shipping industries ahead of schedule. My manager extended my internship after my presentation. Multitask and Communication Experience * During my second year MS program, I joined portfolio management competition, ran Job Search Team, interned at Radian and achieved GPA 3.83 for that semester. * I was in charge of building valuation models for my MBA teammates as group templates on Applied Equity class and got full votes from the investment committee on our final pitch. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss my ability to be utilized at BlackRock. In case you require additional information, please feel free...
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...Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCING HEDGE FUNDS ............................................................................................................................................ 2 ORIGINS OF HEDGE FUNDS .................................................................................................................................................. 3 STRUCTURES OF HEDGE FUNDS ........................................................................................................................................ 6 ROLE OF PRIME BROKERS ................................................................................................................................................... 9 FEE STRUCTURES OF HEDGE FUNDS .............................................................................................................................. 11 MAJOR HEDGE FUNDS ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 BALANCE SHEET OF A HEDGE FUND ....................................................................
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...Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway is a holdings company operated by Warren Buffett and Charles Munger. The company was founded in the 1800’s as a textile mill, and through a series of mergers became known as Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett took control of the company in the 1960’s and transformed it from a failing textile mill into a very successful holdings company. Berkshire Hathaway’s main investments are insurance companies such as GEICO, financial institutions such as Wells Fargo, goods companies such as Coca-Cola, and newspapers such as The Washington Post. The company’s financial situation is very strong, with increasing assets, equity, and revenue. The company has several large competitors such as The Allstate Corporation and BlackRock, Inc., as well as many others. However, Berkshire constantly outperforms not only its competitors, but also the market. Berkshire Hathaway is a holdings company that owns businesses in a variety of business activities. The company was founded in 1839 as a textile mill known as The Valley Falls Company and through a series of mergers became known as Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett, the world’s greatest investor, started buying stock in the company in 1962 (Finkle 2010). By the mid 1960’s, Buffett owned enough of the company to change the management and basically take control of the company. Buffett realized that the textile industry was in a decline, so he used the company as an investment vehicle in addition to its textile operations...
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...Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP),, 14 U.S. PCAOB, 17 U.S. SEC, 17 About BlackRock BlackRock is an asset management firm, managing $4.72 trillion assets and is known as the world’s largest fiduciary investment manager. It provides global market insights using market intelligence, superior investment solutions in terms of investment strategies and technology platforms and deep risk-management expertise, leveraging tool “Aladdin” which helps manage $17 trillion including $4.72 trillion of BlackRock client assets. History BlackRock was founded in the year 1988 under The Blackstone Group with eight people – Lawrence D Fink, Robert Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, and Keith Anderson. Its initial focus was on...
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...The automobile industry is growing rapidly with the introduction of newer technologies and car models. Latin America is quite a preferable location for auto manufacturers. Countries like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are well known for manufacturing automobiles. As a Chinese automobile company who wants to set up their operation in Latin America, several major factors must be considered while selecting the country. Some of the factors which are considered when deciding on which country to invest are as follows: A. Infrastructure: Latin America lags behind in terms of infrastructure. This is a disadvantage for Latin America since it has a negative implication on its production and foreign direct investment. The proportion of paved roads in Latin America is comparatively low. i) Brazil: Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America is ranked 104 in 2014 according to the “Global Competitiveness Report” by the World Economic Forum. This significantly increases the set up costs for new firms. ii) Argentina: Argentina lags even further behind Brazil in terms of infrastructure according to “Global Competitiveness Report” by the World Economic Forum published in 2014. This makes Argentina unsuitable for setting up new subsidiary. iii) Mexico: Mexico is ranked 73rd in the “Global Competitiveness Report” published in 2014, by the World Economic Forum. This shows Mexico is better in terms of infrastructure than Brazil and Argentina. Hence, Mexico will be the better choice...
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...Elements Comprised in JP Morgan Chase & Co Capital Structure JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company, which provides financial and investment banking services. It offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure; capital rising in equity and debt markets; sophisticated risk management; market making in cash securities and derivative instruments; and prime brokerage and research. It also offers investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. JPM has an institutional holding of 75.26% overall, consisting of 2,499 total share holders,...
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...Abstract This paper will discuss a company profile for Berkshire Hathaway. This profile will include a brief history of Berkshire Hathaway's humble beginnings as a textile manufacturer, and subsequent diversification into a successful powerhouse holdings company that has spread it's risk into a variety of industries. These industries include insurance, utilities, building materials, furniture, jewelry, apparel and food companies. This paper will examine Berkshire's recent financial situation over the last 5 years. while touching on the CEO compensation package. The CEO behind this conglomerate, Warren Buffet, is considered to be one of the greatest investors of the 20th Century. Since Buffet took over in 1965, with his 20% majority share of ownership, Berkshire Hathaway, has grown to include over 50 firms under the corporate name. For the last 36 years , "The Oracle of Omaha" as Warren Buffet is known, has lived by a simple philosophy to invest in strong managed companies that produced good products but were inherently undervalued in the market. (Hoover's, 2013) This paper will also discuss Berkshire's competition for their major industries. Company Profile Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company that has subsidiaries in the manufacturing, retail, and service industries and most importantly reinsurance companies. The company itself was founded by Oliver Chase back in 1889 in New Bedford, MA, under the...
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...Nearly $10 billion has rushed into emerging market debt in just the last two months. Experts say that's a significant turnaround -- a net $103 billion bolted out of emerging market debt between 2013 and 2015, according to Bank of America (BAC) Merrill Lynch research. Money is starting to flow into emerging market stocks too as recently as last week, though not as much yet. The timing is good. The broad MSCI emerging market stock index is up 5.5% this year, well above the gains -- or lack thereof -- in U.S. and European markets. Stock markets in Brazil, Argentina and Russia are up 10% or more so far this year. South Africa and Mexico's markets are up too. "We are in a sweet spot for emerging market assets," says Richard Turnill, BlackRock (BLK)'s Global Chief Investment Strategist. Interest in emerging market investments is being fueled by a few key changes, experts say. In short, many of last year's headwinds have become this year's tailwinds. 1. Commodity prices, which drive growth in emerging markets, have risen since February after plummeting the last two years. 2. The Federal Reserve now expects to raise U.S. rates fewer times this year than previously thought. Higher rates tends to attract more money. So investors are seeking higher returns in riskier markets. 3. The strong dollar is losing momentum while emerging markets currencies are bouncing back from a sluggish 2015. A strong dollar also makes it hard to pay back debt owed in dollars. Appetite for...
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...Brochure More information from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/1052577/ Drug Stores Description: Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter: Companies in this industry sell prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, health and beauty products, and general merchandise from physical retail locations. Major companies include Walgreens, CVS Health, and Rite Aid (all based in the US), along with Rexall (part of Canada's Katz Group) and Shoppers Drug Mart (also from Canada), China Nepstar (China), AS Watson (Hong Kong), Matsumoto Kiyoshi (Japan), Phoenix and Celesio (Germany), and Alliance Boots (Switzerland). Global retail pharmacy sales are expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2017, according to Lucintel. Growth drivers include the aging of the population and increased health awareness. North America, with about 40% of worldwide pharmaceutical sales, is the largest market, followed by Europe and Japan with about 25% and 10%, respectively. The US drug stores industry includes about 45,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $250 billion. Competitive Landscape Demand is driven by the aging of the US population, awareness of health issues, and advances in medical treatment. The profitability of individual companies depends on access to medical insurance groups. Large companies have economies of scale in purchasing and in access to large groups of customers. Small ...
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...------------------------------------------------- Latest version: February 7, 2016 (changes from prior version shown in red) ORF 570 Special Topics in Statistics and Operations Research Course topic: Quantitative Asset Management Transcript title: Special Topics in Statistics and Operations/Quantitative Asset Management Instructor: Frank J. Fabozzi, Ph.D., CFA, Visiting Professor, ORFE Office: 207 in ORFE Building (office shared with Professor Mulvey) Office hours: 4-6pm (this time slot will also be used for presentations on special topics) Classroom: Friend 006 Course description: This course covers asset management focusing on quantitative models applied to equities and bonds (with emphasis on mortgage-backed securities). The quantitative models discussed are asset allocation models and portfolio construction models that include optimization models (mean-variance framework and extensions such as robust portfolio optimization), multi-factor risk models, risk control models, and transaction cost forecasting models. Return attribution models for performance evaluation will be covered. Model risk and model/strategy backtesting will be highlighted. Guest speakers from quantitative asset management firms are scheduled. Determination of final grade: Final exam ………………………………. 40% Design project …………………………… 25% Term paper ………………………………. 25% Problem sets ……………………………… 10% Course material and reading assignments: No textbook is required for the book. Instead...
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