“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle AFC Funds Performance Summary Frontier markets performed well last month as the MSCI Frontier Markets Net Total Return USD Index gained +2.0% and the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Net Total Return USD added +3.8%. At the same time, the MSCI World Index Net Total Return USD… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Views
Russian Duma to commission study on cryptocurrencies
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s lower house of parliament has announced competitive tendering for a study on cryptocurrencies that would underlie future legislation on digital money. Continue Reading
GUEST POST: This is why cryptocurrencies are worth investing in
By Dan Miller, payments officer in the Australian banking sector and contributor to Bizzmark Blog, a business journalism website. During the last 100 years, it became more than evident that occasional market crashes seem to be something that happens fairly regularly in a system controlled by central banks. Because of this, more and more economists speculate… Continue Reading
Women increasingly prominent in managing family businesses – Latin America-focused financial planner Elaine King
“Succession planning should include both genders and this can be done with clear roles and expectations,” Elaine King, an international financial planner and writer who is the founder and president of the Miami-based Latin America-focused Family and Money Matters Institute and will be leading a roundtable at the marcus evans Latin Private Wealth Management Summit* in… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Seven reasons to invest in Dubai real estate before World Expo 2020
By Jamie Moulton, Senior Data Analyst at JustProperty.com, an online real estate listing portal headquartered in Dubai. Ever since the Emirate of Dubai won the right to hold Expo 2020 back in 2013, its capital, the city of Dubai, has been gearing up to benefit from this major event. The World Expo in Dubai is… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Introducing bitcoin for SME payments – 7 tips
GUEST POST: Introducing bitcoin for SME payments – 7 tips By Mark Thomasson, business developer at Invoicebus, an online invoicing service based in Macedonia. Making payments on time and without any friction is one of the key elements in the world of business. As the power of the Internet is spreading to various fields, owners… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: The effect of virtual staging on real estate prices
GUEST POST: The effect of virtual staging on real estate prices By Jeena Wilson, Living room virtual staging by Spotless Agency Realtors are in a constant search of ways to sell real estate faster and for bigger money. Virtual staging is considered to be one of the following ways. Many realtors confirm the fact that… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – August 2017 Newsletter
AFC Funds Performance Summary Major equity markets were mixed this past month while frontier markets generally fared well as the MSCI Frontier Markets Net Total Return USD Index gained +3.7% this month and is now up +22.4% YTD, while the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Net Total Return USD added +1.9% this month and is up… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: How regeneration projects are affecting property investors
By Jessica Sullivan, commercial property adviser, UK. Regeneration and gentrification are often on the receiving end of much criticism, especially when locals are being priced out of the area. This has been a particularly delicate issue in London where developers are acquiring land or blocks of flats to knock down and build luxury developments on,… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Three reasons why you should trust digital currencies
By Dan Miller, payments officer in the Australian banking sector and contributor to Bizzmark Blog, a business journalism website. Even though it is clear that cryptocurrencies bring a ton of benefits to the table like lower transaction fees, immediate settlement, and the increased access options, there is still one significant downside to them. We are… Continue Reading
Bayut: Property investment in Dubai, Abu Dhabi profitable though rents, prices slide
By Andrei Skvarsky. UAE property portal Bayut.com says the real estate markets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi still showed a “consistently stable” return on investment (ROI), 4.9 per cent on average, in the first half of 2017 despite an overall, albeit minor, decline in rents and prices in both cities. Continue Reading
Russia-upbeat multinational buys Moscow packaging maker – Moorgate Capital
By Andrei Skvarsky. Smurfit Kappa, a Dublin-headquartered multinational packaging manufacturer, has boosted its presence in Russia by buying out a Moscow-based packaging producer, according to British financial adviser Moorgate Capital. Continue Reading
GUEST POST: World out of whack: Ruskies, sanctions, and Bitcoin – coincidence?
By Capitalist Exploits. Hands up if you’ve got kids. Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Five common mistakes of first-time house flips
By Jeffrey Kershner, Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Clickinvest, an Illinois-based real estate sourcing platform for investors. Perhaps you have seen one of the dozens of house flipping shows now on TV, or maybe you attended a seminar at the local hotel ballroom. Either way, you’re ready to give real estate investing a try.… Continue Reading
LatAm compliance laws give problems to NHW families – Litwak & Partners law firm
New stricter compliance laws in some Latin American countries confront local net high worth families with serious problems, with offshore assets being their main headache, according to Martin Litwak, founding partner at the Litwak & Partners law firm. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – June 2017 Newsletter
AFC Funds Performance Summary Rallies in frontier markets and emerging markets continued in June 2017 as the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Net Total Return USD Index added +3.1%, while the global MSCI Frontier Markets Net Total Return USD Index returned +0.6% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index Net Total Return Index rallied +1.0%. Worldwide, developed… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Two events just hinted at explosive growth ahead
By Capitalist Exploits. Last Monday the administrators were called into Paladin Energy. Paladin if you’re not familiar is (or should I say was) a uranium producer. Bankruptcies happen all the time, so why should we care? Well, for starters Paladin wasn’t just any company. It was a previous market darling in the last uranium bull… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: THIS is how China is increasing global power
By Capitalist Exploits. In the movie The International Clive Owen plays the part of Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent trying to bring down the world’s largest bank. In this clip a banker explains things to him: Umberto Calvini: [In explaining the “true” nature of banking in the world] “The IBBC is a bank. Their objective isn’t to… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Mr Creosote is full
By Capitalist Exploits. Maitre D’: “And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint.” Mr Creosote: “No.” Maitre D’: “Oh, sir! It’s only a tiny little thin one.” Mr Creosote: “No. F**k off. I’m full…” [Belches]Maitre D’: “Oh, sir… it’s only wafer thin.” Mr Creosote: “Look – I couldn’t eat another thing. I’m absolutely stuffed. Bugger off.” Maitre D’: “Oh, sir, just… just one…” Mr… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital – May 2017 Newsletter
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing. – Warren Buffet AFC Funds Performance Summary May 2017 was characterized by a strong performance for emerging markets and for a number of frontier markets in our universe as well. Developed markets were also mainly positive with the S&P 500 Index up +1.2%, though the Nikkei… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Ten things to consider for real estate investment
By Joanne Davidson.* Investing your money into real estate could be exciting, but if you’re new to the game, proceed with caution. If you get things right, you could hit the jackpot, but if you don’t think things through, you could face a lot of losses. Properties usually cost around six digits. Before you invest… Continue Reading
GUEST ARTICLE: The Pros and Cons of Investing In Property in the UK
By Maise Hunns, a British journalist specialising in business, property and financial advisement.* Investing in property is always a gamble but there are pros and cons to everything. So if you’re thinking of investing in commercial property in Peterborough or anywhere else in the UK, there are a number of things you need to consider first. Continue Reading
Never too early to get your children involved in family business – US-based consultant
In this interview, Veronica Yepez,* founder of Perpetum Consulting, a California-based consultancy serving high net worth families in Latin America and the United States, argues on the basis of her experience of more than 15 years that a child can really never be too young to get involved in a family business. This interview transcript… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – March 2017 Newsletter
March 2017 was generally a mixed month for world markets with some markets giving back part of their gains from earlier this year, including the Dow Jones Index (−0.7%), the Nikkei 225 (−1.1%), and the Shanghai Composite Index (−0.6%). In contrast, other markets continued ahead, such as the Euro Stoxx 50 Index which rose by… Continue Reading
Investors may find good opportunities in Commonwealth countries post-Brexit – adviser
By Andrei Skvarsky. A British investment adviser argues that Brexit could involve good investment opportunities in Commonwealth countries because “it’s a certainty” that Britain will seek more extensive trade with Commonwealth nations when it leaves the European Union. Continue Reading
Britain may have to pay $62bn ‘divorce bill’ to EU – BBC
By Andrei Skvarsky. The actual process of Brexit, triggered on March 29, may cost Britain up to 50bn pounds ($62bn), BBC has cited “some reports” as saying, though the British government has denied the cost of leaving the European Union will be so high. Continue Reading
Ukraine central bank asks police to shield sanctioned Russian-controlled banks from riots
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Ukrainian central bank has urged the police to make nationalist rioters stop forcibly disrupting the business of Ukrainian outlets of Russian state-controlled banks that have had sanctions imposed on them by Kiev for alleged support for Ukraine’s Moscow-backed separatist industrial east, and to prevent them from vandalising the lenders’ offices. Continue Reading
Apartment rents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi keep going down – Bayut
By Andrei Skvarsky. Last year’s decline in apartment rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi has overall continued into 2017, though there were minor rises in January and February, according to Dubai-based real estate portal and private company Bayut.com, which argues that the real estate markets in both cities are by and large doing well. Continue Reading
Bryn Mawr Trust CIO talks about Trump-era investment landscape
The US presidential and congressional elections ushered in a new set of variables for investors to consider, according to Ernest E. Cecilia, CFA, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust and a speaker at the marcus evans Private Wealth Management Summit Spring 2017, taking place at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grand Lakes, in Florida on June 4-6. In this environment,… Continue Reading