15
May

One year later...

Change

It is Friday night again, and I am settling back into my European routine…

Paris Friday to Sunday. London, Geneva during the week and soon to be throwing Milan into the mix as a promise of Dolce Vita… 
 
I am almost reaching the first year anniversary of my leaving the well-oiled ranks of corporate machinery to embark on a more personal journey.
 
In the last 9 months I have moved East, started testing my 15 year-old corporate skillset by joining the ranks of the entrepreneurs and finally given in to a long time repressed passion for writing….
 
Months have come and gone. 
 
They were composed of some of the greatest professional highs of my working life.  
 
Every small success, contact made, contract signed, door opened, mind boggling interview, every word written, compliment received became a reason to celebrate and a moment to cherish.
 
This precious inventory compensated for some of the darkest moments - born from frustration, disappointment, tiredness and, surprisingly, betrayal from the least expected places.
 
Back in Europe, reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, reflecting and pondering during my now familiar Eurostar ride…  What is to be remembered from this first year of transformation?
 
Choice is a luxury that only a few seem to have. 
 
Find your inner truth, follow your heart, rock the boat, jump, they say.
 
Reality then strikes… you have to pay your mortgage, raise your kids, beware of the economic environment, survive. 
 
Entrepreneurship is supersized work experience - it brings more work, more stress, more doubts, more loneliness.…
And more passion, more energy, more purpose… more testing of your real strengths and overall more rewards.
 
So what is to be said after just one short year? One thing only:
 
Just do it !
 
Tags:
8
May

Make your mark ....

Ideas

Impact investing is becoming an asset class of its own.

However it requires a bit of knowledge and a lot of heart to fully grasp the nature of Impact investing….

Read about it in the May issue of Global Corporate Venturing.

Make your mark… Invest Social 

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26
Mar

Africa 2020- What scenario for a sustainable future ?

Ideas

  

What is it to be known about Africa, about the diversity and the complexity of a continent that, for a recent part of its long history, has been under the influence of Western countries?
Africa is above all mysterious and it can be defined by one single, albeit powerful and somewhat poetic, word: Contrast.
 
Contrasts are found in its ethnical variety, its cultural richness, its landscapes and natural resources, its economies, its religions and beliefs…
This continent is marked by a complex mix of predatory history and tragic destiny, impacted by endless civil and tribal wars, where peace is a fragile yet pressing imperative.
 
As a land of contrast, what are the main trends that will enable one of the last developing continents to leverage its strengths to reach economic growth and societal harmony? How will these trends create possible scenarios for a sustainable future in Africa?
 
Hear it from Serge H Borg- Former Vice President of Invensys- in the Huffington Post. 
 
Tags:
12
Mar

About a Friday evening in the Eurostar

Ideas

In the last 12 days, I have experienced intensively the life of a global wanderer, clocking about 10,000 miles, 4 different countries, 3 time zones and a yet again a new stack of air miles.

All this made me think of one word: Distance. Physical distance, to be perfectly accurate. It seems the only true barrier left in today’s world.

The world is evermore a global village. From Hong Kong to London, via Paris or Geneva, the same consumerism, the same brands, same vibes are present. The same mega trends are emerging, creating an almost universal framework with different coloring from North to South, East to West.

The world is now hyper connected. From one city to another, networks are being created, ecosystems are blossoming, as are innovation, art, and entrepreneurship.

Speed is everywhere. An idea can instantaneously be sent to the other end of the world, or even everywhere at the same time.

There is a voracious appetite for new and now and fast, or even faster. These are our new masters. They conquer every part of our life.

So what is left to conquer? What barrier is still to fall? Physical distance. 

No matter how you look at it, it still takes 13 hours to fly from Hong Kong to London. It is a 2.5 hours ride from Paris to London, to close a deal or be reunited with a loved one, you have to factor that in.  It’s an  absolute truth…or an absolute tyranny.

So what if the next and only remaining(?) real technological revolution was about transportation? How could we bring physical distance down to its knees once and for all, and embrace a limitless world?

Faster and cleaner planes? Where are you on that journey, Airbus, Boeing and others? 

Faster and cleaner trains? Where are the next versions of the bullet train? 

Or shall we dream a little harder and try to defeat matter, space and time? A blink of an eye, and magically you are where you want to be…how easy it would be to manage, follow-up, solve problems, avoid conflicts…but also to keep in touch and share precious moments with friends and family.

Wishful thinking on a Friday night in the Eurostar… or wait…could it also be hell? 

Tags: Speed
8
Mar

A nose for quality can capitalize on liquid assets ...

Ideas

Alternative investments are becoming increasingly popular. Read my new column on Global Corporate Venturing and discover a new world of investing opportunities….

Let's start with Wine… 

 *******

‘’When I was a little girl, I used to wonder through the vineyards with my grand father. He was an artisan de la magie in the South of France’s Languedoc Roussillon Corbieres AOC making full-bodied and intense red wines. He patiently explained to me the wine life cycle and I discovered the pleasure of drinking good wines with him and now investing in them. ‘’

Wine is a product that requires passion, patience and resilience. 
The managing director of a boutique wealth management company said: “I remember my grandfather in tears time and again when an unexpected hail storm in April was destroying his hopes for the year. It has always made me humble when it comes to wine, and wine as an investment.”
But, partly as a result of such fickle weather patterns, fine wines have proved to be a healthy alternative investment. In the past 10 years, the fine wines market has consistently outperformed most major financial indexes and commodities, such as gold, silver and oil, driven by growth in worldwide demand especially emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, according to the World of Fine Wines.
While there is some concern about a speculative bubble, insiders say demand is outstripping supply of quality wines. Mathieu Jullien, managing director of Wine Source, a UK-based fine wines merchant, said: “Demand for top grands crus [the best bottles of wine] has doubled in the past three years.”
David Roberts, buying director of UK-based wine merchants Goedhuis and Company, said: “The product is by nature supply constrained. We have seen progress on vineyard techniques of course, but the overall production of fine wines can hardly go up. Some chateaux are more and more conscious of quality and not quantity.”
And Roberts’ Hong Kong-based colleague, Tom StopFord Sackville, added that demand in Asia was growing as drinking wine was regarded as a sign of good taste and sophistication. He said: “What is happening to Asia right now is to some extend what happened in the US in the 1960s. One needs to remember, it takes about 20 years to create a wine culture [but] with the internet and the free access to great wine knowledge, with the Parker Guide, Alan Meadows or Wine Spectators publications, this cycle can only go down.”
A number of wine tasting clubs and wine funds have sprung up across Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China, as well as Europe to meet the needs of individual drinkers and collectors. 
Philippe Kalmbach, founder of the Malta-regulated Wine Source Fund, which is to be launched this year, said: “It took us about three years to work on creating the ecosystem that will benefit a fund. We started with a merchant arm [in order to] understand and get exclusive access to the supply side.  We then added with a distribution arm to get first-hand data on consumer behaviour in the most reliable channel: restaurants and luxury hotels around the globe. Finally, we spent some time forming the right investment committee and building a balanced portfolio of products, with a real focus on rare wines and spirits.”
The fund takes valuations from different data sources and has a foreign exchange hedging strategy. But for those wanting to indulge in wine investment, remember there are added perks. As one Singaporian wine expert said: “When you start to drink wine, you see the women eyes start to sparkle like diamonds… without the tears.” 
 
Before buying, ask
Buy to drink or Buy to hold?
Roberts said: “Buying to hold requires a much longer term strategy, and demands for flawless provenance and supreme storage facilities.”
Sackville added: “Investors would need to think about unit value per bottle and storage costs, so getting a critical mass is important, anything below £500 [$750] per case will not be economically viable.”
If you buy to drink might require merchant-managed wine clubs, as giving you more immediate access to your bottles, then funds or similar products.
 
What types of access to supply does the product offer (Entry point)?
In terms of investment, allocation rules so ask “what type of relationship to which chateaux and what could be the level of yearly allocation might we have?”.
Keep in mind that premium Bordeaux are easier to get, but differentiation could come from allocation of rare burgundy or high-end Italians or even new world wines. 
Any answer of less than £10m per year for allocation should raise a red flag in relation to scalability and look for products offered by wine merchants rather than from an ex-private banker who happens to have a passion for wine.
On provenance, always enquire about their documentation protocol and safe keeping, especially if you are an Asian investor following a number of scams in the region. 
 
What types of access to distribution does the product offer (Exit point)?  
As equally important to have the right access to supply, benefiting from access to diverse distribution channels is important to make your investment liquid (pun intended). Select products offered by wine distributors that have multiple channels, including their own customers, such as restaurants or hotels, or wine club and access to other wine clubs and auction houses.
For liquidity, think about balancing maximum returns and easy access to cash. Best products would offer a quarterly or semi annually redemption, but incur a penalty fee for less than one to two years tenure in the product. 
 
How would the bottles be stored and insured? 
Roberts said: ‘’Storage is an extremely important issue in Asia and its impact on the physical presentation of the label. While the quality of the wine itself is imperative, buyers also want the bottles and labels to be in impeccable condition.”
In Europe, the safest and best option remains Octavian, which is used by Bordeaux chateaux and most of the UK merchants. 
Make sure your stock is adequately segregated from other owners. 
If your storage facilities are in France beware of the corporate tax on any cork sold and ensure the inventory is hold on a tax-free zone. 
Finally, inquire about insurance. Any product offering a replacement value of less than 80% should raise another red flag and best is net replacement value. 
 
What is the investment strategy?
Different varieties can see large fluctuations. Last year and 2008 saw a massive drop in Bordeaux prices, while rare Burgundy appreciated by about 30%, and Tuscan wines by 25%.
Ask who will be the most likely buyers?
High-powered bankers are very keen on Bordeaux, for example. But make sure your portfolio is well balanced and ask for Burgundy or new world wines. 

  

In loving memory of my Grand-Father- Jose Clement Pech. 

 *******

Tags: Alternative Investment