AFC Funds Performance Summary Major equity markets rallied this past month and frontier markets generally fared well as the MSCI Frontier Markets Net Total Return USD Index gained +1.2% this month and is now up +26.4% YTD, while the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Net Total Return USD added +5.2% this month and is up +20.4%… Continue Reading
Russian watchdog blocks access to 13 cryptocurrency-focused websites
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s communications watchdog has blocked access to 13 cryptocurrency trading or information websites, citing court rulings. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Moscow office of Egypt’s Banque Misr to help Russian, Egyptian firms – chairman
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian companies seeking to do business in Middle Eastern countries and Egyptian firms wishing to work in Russia will receive “extremely extensive” financial support from Banque Misr, a top Egyptian lender that has just opened a representative office in Moscow, the bank’s chairman has said. Continue Reading
Brickblock aims to raise $50m via ICO, plans apartment block sale for digital money
By Andrei Skvarsky. Brickblock, a Berlin-based firm building the first-ever platform to connect cryptocurrencies with real-world assets, aims to raise $50m in an initial coin offering (ICO) – a standard fundraising method used by cryptocurrency ventures – that is due to launch on October 31. Continue Reading
Sberbank joins Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has become the country’s first bank to join the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), a nonprofit whose purpose is to coordinate the engineering of an open-source reference standard and a version of the Ethereum trading blockchain that can address the common interests of firms in a wide range of… Continue Reading
Russian “crypto roubles” to have little in common with bitcoin
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia will soon launch its own cryptocurrency, the “crypto rouble”, the communications minister has said, citing a decision by President Vladimir Putin. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – September 2017 Newsletter
“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
GUEST POST: Warning – danger lurks here
By Capitalist Exploits. Take a look at the volume of stocks listed vs. indexes listed going all the way back to the days of bellbottoms, loud hair, and orange wallpaper. Since 1995, the supply of stocks, particularly in the US, has been shrinking faster than Trump’s approval ratings. At the same time, the number of indexes… Continue Reading
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
FXPrimus launches trade in 5 cryptocurrencies
Online broker FXPrimus has launched trade in five cryptocurrencies – bitcoin, ethereum, Ripple, litecoin and Dash. 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
EM.me readers to get discount for attending London forum on insurance claims transformation
Executives from dozens of insurance companies are getting together at the Connected Claims Europe conference in London on October 24-25, 2017, to look for more efficient use of information and communication technology in handling insurance claims. EmergingMarkets.me readers would be eligible for a discount of 200 pounds sterling off the fee for attending the conference, which… 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’s ITI Group Buys Out UK’s Walbrook Capital Markets
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian financial services company ITI Group has bought out Walbrook Capital Markets, a London-based multi-asset brokerage that provides access to a range of electronic trading platforms and telephone services. 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
US family offices to discuss future of private wealth management sector at December forum
Heads of major US single- and multi-family offices will convene in Las Vegas on December 3-5 for Private Wealth Management Summit Fall 2017 to look at the future of the industry in North America. The Summit, organised by global events management company marcus evans, will bring together senior investment executives responsible for fund management and asset allocation… 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
ITI Capital hires ex-top manager at Liquidnet John Barker as non-executive chairman
By Andrei Skvarsky. ITI Capital, a London-based brokerage that used to be a British subsidiary of Russian bank Uralsib, has announced it has hired John Barker, a former head of international at New York-headquartered global institutional equities marketplace Liquidnet, as non-executive chairman. Continue Reading
Two firms setting up $200m fund to help money-starved Russian fintechs
By Andrei Skvarsky. Two financial services firms are launching a $200m fund to provide loans to Russian fintech companies in a bid to help a sector starved of financing because of legal constraints. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – July 2017 Newsletter
“I think you have to learn that there’s a company behind every stock and there’s only one real reason why stocks go up. Companies go from doing poorly to doing well or small companies grow to large companies.” – Peter Lynch AFC Funds Performance Summary Most major equity markets in the world performed well this past… Continue Reading
LatAm family office top brass to convene for regular flagship event
Top figures in key Latin American single- and multi-family offices are coming together in Cancun, Mexico, on October 9-10, 2017, for a regular Latin Private Wealth Management Summit organised by global business communications company marcus evans. Founders, presidents, chief executives, chief investment officers and other senior managers of family offices will make up the majority… Continue Reading