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Azimut, One of the Largest Independent Asset Managers in Europe, Completes Phase One of the Team Buildout of Azimut Alternative Capital Partners in New York

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Expansion of High Caliber US Team Builds on Successful Kennedy Lewis Transaction

New York, New York and Milan, Italy–(Newsfile Corp. – September 1, 2020) – Azimut, one of Europe’s largest independent asset managers with ca. $ 60 billion in AUM, today announced that it had completed its first round of new hires for Azimut Alternative Capital Partners, LLC, AACP“, its New York-based multi-affiliate business focused on investing in alternative managers specializing in the private markets space, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate. AACP is building an affiliate’s business for Azimut in the US in the private capital markets that seek to leverage Azimut’s global distribution through its proprietary network of 2200 financial advisors, starting with a GP stakes business. On July 29 Azimut and AACP announced their first US deal whereby AACP acquired a minority interest in Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LLC and certain affiliated entities (“Kennedy Lewis”).

AACP specializes in partnering with mid-market US-based alternative asset managers ($500m-3b assets under management) by providing them with permanent capital to grow and reach their greatest business potential. AACP was founded in November 2019 under the leadership of industry veteran Chief Executive Officer Jeffry Brown, who brings more than two decades of investing, due diligence and operating management experience in the alternatives asset management industry. Most recently Jeff was a Managing Director at Dyal Capital Partners (one of the leading minority stake investors in alternatives asset management businesses globally, part of Neuberger Berman), and joined in its early days of formation.

In addition to the new team members listed below, Jeff will be joined by two senior executives from Azimut: Massimo Guiati (Azimut Group Global Co-CEO), has been appointed as Chairman of AACP and Vittorio Pracca will join as Deputy CEO, working closely and alongside the local US team.

Weston Wilkinson – Senior Vice President & Head of Affiliate Investments
Mr. Wilkinson leads all aspects of AACP’s principal investing activities. Prior to joining AACP, he was a Director at Perella Weinberg Partners. Previously, he was an Associate at Berkshire Global Advisors. He holds a BA from the University of London.

Robert Adler – CFO/COO
Mr. Adler oversees the finance, administration and operations functions of AACP. He also leads product development efforts and ensures each affiliate receives the full access to and benefits of its association with the global Azimut Group. He has over two decades of experience in leadership positions in asset management, including Bridgewater Associates, Strategic Value Partners, Bear Stearns Asset Management and Goldman Sachs. He holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Judith Furgieule, CFA – Global Head of Consultant Relations
Ms. Furgieule leads distribution with the most influential institutional investment consultants that advise investors on private markets allocations. She has over two decades of experience in real estate investing, fixed income portfolio management, and risk management. She holds a BS from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Joseph W. Hill – Global Head of Institutional Relationships
Mr. Hill oversees the most important and impactful institutional investor relationships for our affiliates around the world. Mr. Hill was a Managing Principal and Vice Chairman at Halcyon/Bardin Hill and a Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston in the Private Funds Group. He holds a BA from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Linh Nguyen – Associate, Affiliate Investments
Ms. Nguyen supports all aspects of AACP’s investment processes. Prior to joining AACP, she was an analyst at Pluris Valuation Advisors. She holds a BS in Finance and Statistics from NYU Stern School of Business.

Jeffry Brown, CEO of AACP commented, “AACP endeavors to become the leading private markets strategic permanent capital solutions provider and business operator of minority to majority stakes in alternatives asset management businesses. We are building a global business focused on non-CUSIP, private market products, starting with the GP stakes business. I am delighted to welcome these new professionals to the AACP team who will help us build on our momentum and early success following our recent investment in Kennedy Lewis. With these talent additions, we are exceptionally well-positioned to fulfill our mission of partnering with alternative asset management businesses and help them achieve their greatest potential.”

Pietro Giuliani, Chairman of Azimut Group, commented, “Jeff has put together a great team of professionals at AACP and I welcome all of them in the broader Azimut family. I am pleased about the successful closing of our first transaction and look forward to continuing on this path in the future.”

Azimut, established in 1989, is one of Europe’s largest independent asset managers with ca. $ 60 billion in Total AUM. The parent company Azimut Holding was listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 2004 (MI: AZM) and is part of the FTSE MIB Index. The Group is present in 17 countries and is working with over 3,000 professionals around the world, including Portfolio Managers, Analysts, Financial Advisors and employees. It currently has its main offices in Milan, Miami, Sao Paolo, Mexico City, Santiago, Monte Carlo, Lugano, Luxembourg, Dublin, Istanbul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and Sydney. It operates in three key segments including public markets, private markets as well as emerging markets. The Group has grown Assets with a CAGR of +14% over the past 16 years. The shareholder structure includes almost 2,000 managers, employees and financial advisors working for the Group, bound together by a strong and long term shareholders agreement that controls over 21% of the Company, aiming to create long term shareholder value. The remaining is free float. Current market cap stands at ca. $ 3.5 billion.

Media relations:
US:
Cindy Stoller
Confluence Partners
917-331-0418
[email protected]

Europe:
​Viviana Merotto
+39 02 8898 5026
[email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/62987

Fintech

Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space

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The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.

Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.

Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.

The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.

As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.

Source: fintech.globa

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Fintech

TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud

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TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.

The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.

This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.

TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.

Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.

TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.

Source: fintechfutures.com

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Fintech

MAS launches transformative platform to combat money laundering

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The MAS has unveiled Cosmic, an acronym for Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Information and Cases, a new money laundering platform.

According to Business Times, launched on April 1, Cosmic stands out as the first centralised digital platform dedicated to combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing on a worldwide scale. This move follows the enactment of the Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Act 2023, which, along with its subsidiary legislation, commenced on the same day to provide a solid legal foundation and safeguards for information sharing among financial institutions (FIs).

Cosmic enables participating FIs to exchange customer information when certain “red flags” indicate potential suspicious activities. The platform’s introduction is a testament to MAS’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of the financial sector, mandating participants to establish stringent policies and operational safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of the shared information. This strategic approach allows for the efficient exchange of intelligence on potential criminal activities while protecting legitimate customers.

Significantly, Cosmic was co-developed by MAS and six leading commercial banks in Singapore—OCBC, UOB, DBS, Citibank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered—which will serve as participant FIs during its initial phase. The initiative emphasizes voluntary information sharing focused on addressing key financial crime risks within the commercial banking sector, such as the misuse of legal persons, trade finance, and proliferation financing.

Loo Siew Yee, assistant managing director for policy, payments, and financial crime at MAS, highlighted that Cosmic enhances the existing collaboration between the industry and law enforcement authorities, fortifying Singapore’s reputation as a well-regulated and trusted financial hub. Similarly, Pua Xiao Wei of Citi Singapore and Loretta Yuen of OCBC have expressed their institutions’ support for Cosmic, noting its potential to ramp up anti-money laundering efforts and its significance as a development in the banking sector’s ability to combat financial crimes efficiently. DBS’ Lam Chee Kin also praised Cosmic as a “game changer,” emphasizing the careful balance between combating financial crime and ensuring legitimate customers’ access to financial services.

Source: fintech.global

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