European Family Office Winter Symposium

Tatiana Nevard, Co Founder of Red Square London attended the Opal European Family Office Winter Symposium on the 11/12 February 2013 at the Park Lane Hilton, London.  On the second day, Tatiana joined a team of experts on the BRICs Region panel; hot on the heels of that appearance, here are the top questions that were answered by the panel and our summary of the answers given:

1. Q: Can the BRIC grow while the developed world slows?

The panel was optimistic that within two years there would be a pick-up in the BRICs economies. They acknowledged a slow down had occurred, but felt there were still reasons to be optimistic. In the main the sheer scale of countries like the Russia Federation and China still present enormous potential.

 

2.  Q: Should we invest in MIST, as it outperforms the BRIC? Or other opportunities outside the BRICs region?

Serious food for thought here; anyone who can take the risk could do very well. "MIST markets have already posted high gains (Turkey and Indonesia already around 300% from the bottom). Now it is time to take a look at smaller overlooked emerging markets, so called Frontier markets” Denis Vengust, BEF Fund.

Markets of Western Balkans – ex Yugoslav countries are lagging behind the most in the world and have huge potential, as some of them are still at only 10-15% of their 2007’s peaks. Another important factor is that Balkan region represents the last catch up opportunity in Europe in the foreseeable future.

3. Q: Are the BRIC economies facing the same financial bubble as the developed world?

"The West is in dire straits, which in the main is down to the banking system. For example, in India the growth is consistently high, so to my mind that doesn’t indicate a bubble. The Indian banking system is 70% nationalized which actually puts it on parity with the UK." Deepak Lalwani, Lalcap UK.

4. Q: What are the investors’ concerns when looking to BRICS region countries?

Tatiana Nevard, Red Square London was keen to discuss the current concerns over doing business in the Russian Federation. Difficulties over political stability, transparency of decision making process at political as well as judicial levels and enforceability of court judgements were named as contributing factors to slow down in direct, and indirect, investments into the region. 

Tatiana Nevard also cited ad hoc administrative decisions of and ‘endless inspections’ by local authorities and officials as ‘undesirable effects’ on businesses, and certainly another hindrance for developing ‘free market’ investment culture in Russia.

"If Russia is where you want to go, don’t expect for things to be done in the same way as your own jurisdiction, there will always be risks specific to Russia and they won’t go away, but it is possible to avoid or at least manage those risks. Having a local business partner or advisers in your own jurisdiction who are specialists in the region will ensure that you avoid most common mistakes in doing business in Russia." 

"Current Russian client sentiment is that they are often reluctant to invest in their home jurisdiction because of concerns already mentioned and security and safety of their investments. On a positive side, those who underwent the ‘Russian school’ of way doing business and survived, reap great benefits.” Tatiana Nevard - RSL

All panellists agreed that a failure to understand cultural differences and alternative business methods is a barrier to going into new jurisdictions. It is essential to have competent, trusted partners on the ground in whatever market you go into, to ensure you bring about success.

BRICSs Region

Moderator:
Managing Director, HFIM/ DHANDSA FAMILY OFFICE
Panelists:Director and Co-founder, RED SQUARE LONDON, FAMILY OFFICE
Director, India, LALCAP (UK)
Investment Manager, BALKAN EMERGING FRONTIERS FUND, SP

 

Two Days at the Opal European Family Office Winter Symposium

Welcome to our brand new blog!  To kick off proceedings, we would like to update you on our interesting and busy two days at the Opal Winter European Family Office Symposium, held at the Park Lane Hilton (London) 11-12 February 2013.  Communications and Brand Director, Anna White attended this annual event with Red Square London Co-Founder Tatiana Nevard, who was honoured to be invited on the panel for the BRICs Region round table discussion; but more about that later.

Conference Day 1: Monday, 11 February 2013

The first day kicked off with sessions covering ‘Private Wealth Strategies’, ‘Investing Styles’, ‘Governance’ and ‘Risk’.  The discussions covering ‘Hidden Risks In Real Estate Investing’, ’Pitfalls and Illusions’ were of particular interest as Red Square London is becoming increasingly involved in property and this is a fast moving, dog eat dog industry.  Keeping up with internal developments is vital, and this was a hub of information, delivered by some very focused, qualified minds notably input from Anis Ashgar from RDS Capital Limited.

 

 

Conference Day 2: Tuesday, 12 February 2013

 

After a packed first day, we started the second day discussing how to ‘save the world and feel good about it’ AKA ‘Family Philanthropy’. We heard from top consultants, Plum Lomax of New Philanthropy Capital and Harin Thaker of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, on how they think outside the box to create really meaningful ‘giving relationships’ for clients. 

Notably, a fierce debate with Jake Hayman on what constitutes effective philanthropy made the morning coffee go down nicely.  This has certainly given us food for thought, and we are now looking at this area as a service we can offer our clients, as it isn’t currently something we do. 

Danladi Verheijn of Verod Capital argued enthusiastically for greater investment in smart projects in Africa and that was followed by Africa again but from an infrastructure investment perspective, investigating the efficiency of big investment projects, mostly PPP.

Lunch was taken with a number of interesting individuals with substantial wealth to invest.  What a joy it was to debate strategies for success in these challenging times with masterminds of industry.  It certainly put Tatiana Nevard in the right place mentally before she made her excuses to join fellow panellists for the BRICs Region roundtable discussion.

BRIC Region Roundtable

Tushar Patel of HFIM was the Moderator and controlled the debate on the future of the BRICs region, and potential for looking outside the region to MIST, or new frontier markets like the Balkans.  Our focus quite naturally was on Russia and the challenges to investing there, coupled with our experience that clients from the region can be reluctant to maintain or reinvest there. 

The audience was very responsive to our line of discussion and we took the majority of questions from the floor. We will be publishing a selection of these in our next blog. Our roundtable was followed by a similar discussion but focusing on the MENA region, which had some contradictory points of view over the safety of investing in the Middle Eastern Region.

….and Relax!?

Winding down, the Champagne Roundtable, hosted by Fusion Investments, Montreux Capital Management, Texas Coastal Energy and Nixon Peabody, gave Tatiana and Anna a chance to talk to  many of the other delegates attending and, due to high demand, continue the BRICs discussion in a more relaxed surroundings. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly for Red Square London, ’Key Personal Skills for Family Office Advisers’ rounded off a very full two days.

After the closing cocktail reception, we capped the Opal European Family Office Winter Symposium with a very enjoyable (and delicious) Sponsors’ Dinner at Nobu, Park Lane, hosted by Texas Coastal Energy.  Finally exhaustion won the day and led the Red Square London team home. Both Tatiana and Anna were booked into a very early marketing meeting the next morning in Pall Mall.  Business as usual!