What interests me is that in his interview put that my team, Aberdeen, was the last beat in a european final to Real Madrid”. That occasion occurred in the distant year of 1983, just when Martin Gilbert (Malaysia, 1955) he founded along with other partners, Aberdeen Asset Management. Under his baton, the fund manager scottish was growing thanks to an aggressive acquisitions policy. The last blow came in the summer of 2017 when he announced the merger with Standard Life. The fruit of this union was born a financial giant with assets under management valued at 610,000 were million pounds (about 690.000 million euros).
Question. investors start to get nervous. At what point of market are we?
Response. we Enter in a market more complicated. The situation tends to be normal after a long period characterized by injections of liquidity by central banks. From the point of view of investment we will return to basics, to a strategy based on fundamental aspects. During the last four or five years, conditions have favored managers that implement strategies passive [replicated indexes]; this new phase, I think that will be more favorable to managers active as us.
“The biggest challenge for an investor right now is to find profitability.”
Q. Now, what are the biggest challenges you must face an investor?
A. The biggest challenge is to find profitability. The valuation of the equities is in high levels and the bond market is very difficult. If the rates are kept low, it will be difficult to achieve profitability in the fixed income, and if inflation rises, investors will suffer capital losses.
Q. On a portfolio average, what would you recommend sobreponderar stocks or bonds?
A. Actions. The key in the variable income is to find real value, especially in those companies with good dividend, sustainable, growing. The companies of sectors value [value] are better valued than growth, especially the technological.
Q. Speaks of the normalisation of the markets. Is it possible that central banks can withdraw this amount of liquidity without causing any damage?
A. no, it is Not possible. No one has done before, an experiment of this caliber and will have to withdraw the liquidity very gradually.
Q. do You like the Spanish market?
“The managers big are not a systemic risk. Another debate is whether what are some funds”
A. From the business point of view, it’s a great market because it’s next to Italy, one of the few that grows in assets under management. If we as investors in the Spanish Stock market there are still values that hold real value. For example, the Santander grows robustly, has a presence in Latin america, and his quote is on the same level as two years ago.
Q. what Are the activist investors?
A. We are half way. We are not activists, but we don’t stay idly. We talked with the managers of the enterprises, with the president. In addition, we are very present at the time of investing ESG [environment, corporate governance and social impact].
Q. Has said repeatedly that he wants to overcome the trillion euros in assets under management. How do you plan to achieve it?
A. We are the independent firm’s largest outside the US, but we are still far from the giants, with three billion Maksibet in assets. We need to be more great and I think that we will reach the goal with organic growth and growth through acquisitions punctual. We have the healthier balance sheet of the sector, and that gives us room to grow.
Q. why is it that in this industry the size is so important?
A. commissions have been reduced, in part by the growth of the funds liabilities. In addition, there are higher costs for new regulations such as Mifid II.
Q. Some regulators warn that the creation of firms such large increases systemic risk. What do you think?
“The size in this sector is important: the commissions are lower and there are more expenses”
A. there is No systemic risk because the assets have fund managers, unlike what happened 10 years ago with banks and insurance companies, are not on its balance sheet. Another question is whether some of the funds managed by the industry, due to their size, are systemic in themselves. If a fund has invested hundreds of thousands of billion in emerging debt, or junk bonds, and risk aversion changes can have liquidity problems if they decide to redeem their money all at once.
Q. do you Think that in the future only robots will manage our money?
A. I don’t think so. Help managers to make decisions with their capacity for data management. For small investors, with assets of 50,000 euros, yes it would make sense to use roboadvisors, but all the investigations that have been done show that, at some point of the transaction, the client always wants the other side to a person with which to speak. Probably, what happens is that the advisor will need to have different skills in the future.
Q. When Aberdeen and Standard Life merged opted for a model of two-headed in the dome. Now, some investors are asking to return to the model of a single ceo. What do you think?
R . I do not believe that to happen in the next two years. There is still much to be done to complete the merger and, when that happens, it seems logical that you go to a structure more traditional. But for the moment, both Keith [Skeoch] as I we are complementing well. Anyway, it is not a decision that depends on me, but of the council.
Q. As a scot, what is your opinion of Brexit?
A. does Not matter much what I think. The people voted and he came out Brexit. From the point of view of the business, does not affect us much because in Europe we never sell funds domiciled in the Uk, but in Luxembourg. No matter what happens, we are prepared, we have contingency plans.
