wallstreetjournaleurope_20170111_The_Wall_Street_Journal___Europe

B6| Wednesday, January 11, 2017 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

For information about listing your funds, please contact: Freda Fung tel: +852 2831 2504; email: [email protected]

Data as shown is for information purposes only. No offer is being made by Morningstar, Ltd. or this publication. Funds shown aren’t registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and aren’t available for sale to United States citizens and/or residents except as noted. Prices are in local currencies. All performance figures are calculated using the most recent prices available.

Advertisement INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT FUNDS

[ Search by company, category or country at europe.WSJ.com/funds ]

NAV —%RETURN— FUND NAME GF AT LB DATE CR NAV YTD 12-MO 2-YR n Chartered Asset Management Pte Ltd - Tel No: 65-6835- Fax No: 65-6835 8865, Website: http://www.cam.com.sg, Email: [email protected] CAM-GTF Limited OT OT MUS 12/30 USD 302080.74 7.9 8.2 -4.

FINANCE & MARKETS

on demolishing some of Mr. Massad’s initiatives. The House is expected to vote as early as Wednesday on legislation that would hamper the commission’s attempts to complete long-delayed rules

aimed at curbing speculation in commodities such as gold and oil. In addition, Mr. Massad said he hopes there won’t be a deterioration of international cooperation on implementing

financial overhauls under the Trump administration. “If we enter a period when there is less international cooperation in regulating the global financial system, or worse, regulatory competition, that is likely

nouncement could be delayed as the transition team rounds out the next list of White House appointees who will work for Mr. Trump. “Being in the arena, at the center of power, is something Anthony has always desired,” said Andrew Boszhardt, who started a money-management firm with Mr. Scaramucci in

“I think Washington is in
many ways a more natural fit”
than Wall Street, he said.
Mr. Scaramucci, a former
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
stockbroker, joins a long list of
Trump appointments with
Goldman and Wall Street ties,
following a campaign in which
the Republican nominee regu-
larly bashed the firm and the
financial industry.
For the self-described
“diva” dubbed “The Mooch,”
the move to the White House
is the latest maneuver in a ca-
reer advanced through self-
promotion, well-timed bets
and a knack for surviving fail-
ure and gaffes.
Mr. Scaramucci supported
Barack Obama in the 2008
presidential campaign, then
turned on the president for his
handling of the financial crisis,
briefly becoming a symbol of
elitism after directly complain-
ing to the new president in a
public forum that he was
“whacking the Wall Street pi-
ñata.” Comedian Jon Stewart
lampooned him, saying the
hits would stop after “the
candy comes out.”
During the 2016 campaign,
Mr. Scaramucci stirred contro-
versy again in October by lik-
ening the Obama investment-
advice rule to the notorious

1857 U.S. Supreme Court Dred Scott decision extending the reach of slavery. He said the analogy fit because both ac- tions were discriminatory and later tweeted that he meant both were “bad governmental decisions.” After his public confronta- tion with Mr. Obama, Mr. Scar- amucci ramped up his political involvement, while pivoting to the Republican Party. His path to Mr. Trump’s in- ner circle was a winding one, including fundraising for two Trump rivals for the GOP nom- ination. In the heat of that contest, Mr. Scaramucci at- tacked Mr. Trump as a “hack politician” and an “inherited money dude” after the businessman disparaged hedge- fund managers.

Eventually, he changed his tune after meeting privately with Mr. Trump. He signed on to raise money for Mr. Trump in May, when many establish- ment Republicans still shunned the GOP front-runner. He was later named to the Trump transition team’s exec- utive committee, a group that includes Mr. Trump’s children, and has helped to interview nominees for the administration. The move to Washington means Mr. Scaramucci will sell his stake in Skybridge, which pitches high-cost, hedge-fund investments to wealthy indi- viduals. Clients pay additional fees to Skybridge, which groups their cash and puts the pooled money with dozens of hedge funds.

It is unclear which buyers might bid for the firm. Mr. Scaramucci would be selling at a time when hedge-fund returns have lagged behind a more traditional mix of stocks and bonds for six straight years. Skybridge’s flagship fund was down 1% through mid-December, on track for its second straight year of nega- tive returns, according to an investor document. Mr. Scaramucci is also likely to sell the lavish SALT (for SkyBridge Alternatives) conference, where he’s hosted ce- lebrities such as Will Smith and world leaders such as Tony Blair. The Las Vegas af- fair is synonymous with Mr. Scaramucci, who launched it during the depths of the 2008 recession. “It will be difficult

to live on without Anthony,” Marc Lasry, founder of Avenue Capital Group, and a major Democratic donor, said of SALT. Mr. Scaramucci’s charisma has propelled his career. It helped him survive being fired by Goldman Sachs in 1991, where he washed out of the real-estate investment banking business. His boss at the time, Michael Fascitelli, recom- mended him for another job in the division that sold stocks to institutional investors and private clients, where he excelled at cold-calling and building his client base. Mr. Scaramucci later left Goldman, and started and sold a money-management firm to Neuberger Berman Group Inc. His next move was to start Skybridge, which at the time took stakes in new hedge-fund management firms. The business essentially failed during the 2008 financial crisis and lost money for its original investors, some of them former colleagues at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Scaramucci quickly pivoted the firm by purchasing Citi- group Inc.’s hedge-fund management group. That former Citigroup business is the one he is poised to sell, and which Mr. Scaramucci has promoted through hun- dreds of hours of television ap- pearances every year. “He was not the best ana- lyst or associate,” said Mr. Fas- citelli, who was also CEO of Vornado Realty Trust. “As he got more into what his skill set is—dealing with people, selling and trusting his instincts—he was really terrific.”

Wall Street’s hedge-fund
showman is ready to leave in-
vesting behind for a new act in
Washington.
Anthony Scaramucci, the
founder of SkyBridge Capital
and an extravagant hedge-fund
conference known as SALT, is
likely to take a job advising
Donald Trump that could be
announced as soon as Thurs-
day. Mr. Scaramucci has been a
loyal—if late arriving—surro-
gate for Mr. Trump on televi-
sion and Twitter as well as a
nearly daily fixture at Manhat-
tan’s Trump Tower transition
headquarters since the New
York businessman won the No-
vember election.
The role for Mr. Scaramucci,
53 years old, will likely focus
on selling Mr. Trump’s agenda
through the media and public
events, and as a kind of liaison
to the business community. He
is expected to work closely
with Jared Kushner, Mr.
Trump’s son-in-law, who will
be a senior adviser in the West
Wing.
He also could have a voice
on policies that affect Wall
Street, including those that he
has criticized, such as a con-
troversial Obama administra-
tion rule shaking up the $
trillion industry for advising
investors on retirement sav-
ings. It is still possible the an-

BYDAVEMICHAELS
ANDLISABEILFUSS

‘The Mooch’ Gets the Ear of Trump

Anthony Scaramucci

is expected to take

a new role as adviser

to incoming president

Anthony Scaramucci, at Trump Tower on Monday, earlier had called Mr. Trump a ‘hack politician.’

ALBIN LOHR-JONES/PRESS POOL/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

to increase the risk of financial instability, which can in turn lead to another crisis,” he said. The U.K.’s planned depar- ture from the European Union shouldn’t result in a race to the bottom in terms of regulatory standards, Mr. Massad said. Challenges could also arise with respect to the regulation of clearinghouses and trading platforms, he said. “[This] could affect Lon- don’s role as the pre-eminent financial center in Europe,” Mr. Massad said. When the EU discussed clearinghouse equivalence with the CFTC, it “applied tougher conditions” than to other countries, he said. After its divorce from the EU, the U.K. could face a similar situa- tion. Moving euro clearing from London to continental Europe “could raise costs for busi- nesses” and “could affect the location decisions for some financial-services firms,” Mr. Massad said. Should the EU decide to insist euro clearing couldn’t take place in London, this could lead to other countries following suit by issuing regulation on the clearing of products in their own currencies, he said.

Timothy Massad, the exit-
ing chairman of the Commod-
ity Futures Trading Commis-
sion, warned the incoming
Donald Trump administration
against rolling back postcrisis
financial regulation.
“My belief is that to repeal
or dismantle the reforms we
have implemented would be a
major mistake,” Mr. Massad
said Tuesday during a speech
at the London School of Eco-
nomics. “Their repeal would
not contribute to improving
the economic conditions that
might have given rise to popu-
list discontent expressed in re-
cent elections.”
Financial overhauls intro-
duced after the financial crisis,
such as the 2010 Dodd-Frank
Act, could however be im-
proved upon, he said.
U.S. regulators should focus
on central clearinghouses,
market liquidity, automated
trading and the risk of cyber-
attacks, he said, although “it is
unclear what will happen”
amid increasing signs of a po-
tential repeal of postcrisis reg-
ulation.
House Republicans, in a
push to ease financial regula-
tions they perceive as unduly
rigorous, already are working

BYNINATRENTMANN

Exiting CFTC Head Defends Dodd-Frank

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Timothy Massad, seen last May, says, ‘My belief is that to repeal or dismantle the reforms we have implemented would be a major mistake.’

PATRICK T. FALLON/BLOOMBERG NEWS

under the coming Trump administration. Lawmakers are expected to attach the restrictions on position limits as an amendment to legislation setting the con- tours of the CFTC’s regulatory powers for five years that cleared the House in the prior Congress but failed to ad- vance through the Senate.

The CFTC measure now faces a clearer path to be signed into law thanks to Re- publicans’ win of the White House in November. The GOP has promised to ease regulations they view as unduly bur- densome. The House is expected to take up the measure along with a series of other modest deregulation measures that could be added into a larger package, such as those that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hen-

sarling (R., Texas) is expected to introduce in the coming weeks. The CFTC has long curbed the positions firms can take on certain agricultural commodities. Its proposed rule would extend position limits to 28 contracts covering commodities such as natural gas and silver. Under an amendment advanced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R., Texas), the CFTC wouldn’t be able to complete such limits until they first de- termine that any new trading caps are necessary to reduce excessive speculation. Proponents of the amendment say it merely clarifies existing law. Still, lobbyists said if signed into law, it would become much more difficult for the CFTC to complete the trading restrictions because excessive speculation is difficult to define and measure. The House is also poised to vote on a measure, sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wis.) that would require the CFTC to first obtain a subpoena before it could collect computer source code from algorithmic trading firms. The measure is

a win for industry groups that have chafed under a CFTC proposal to expand its access to the computer code that drives automated trading strategies. CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad, who is preparing to step down this month, has maintained a subpoena isn’t necessary because source code isn’t different from traditional records that firms must make available to regulators. A CFTC spokesman couldn’t be reached to comment. The House is also expected to vote this week on a bill that would create more hurdles for the Securities and Exchange Commission to complete new regulations. Sponsored by

Rep. Ann Wagner (R., Mo.), the bill would require additional analysis of the costs and benefits of rules before they are adopted by the commission. The SEC also would have to issue “lookback” re- ports that estimate the cost that a rule has on the econ- omy. Yet another bill by Rep. Steve Chabot (R., Ohio) aims to clarify existing SEC regulations governing how startups pitch potential investors on private offerings. The bill would allow “angel” investor groups established by organi- zations such as local govern- ments and universities to hold events designed to let entre- preneurs connect with potential backers.

WASHINGTON—House Re-
publicans are poised to ap-
prove legislation making it
harder for the Commodity Fu-
tures Trading Commission to
complete long-delayed rules
limiting speculation in com-
modities like oil and gold.
The House is expected to
vote as early as Wednesday on
legislation that would make it
harder for the commission to
complete so-called position
limits, House Republicans
said. The rules would cap the
size of trading positions firms
could take in more than two
dozen core commodity con-
tracts, applying to a variety of
energy and precious-metals
commodities and are designed
to curb a trader’s influence on
that market.
Opposed by Wall Street, the
trading caps are a longtime
Democratic priority that were
authorized by the 2010 Dodd-
Frank financial overhaul. The
CFTC has yet to complete the
controversial and complex re-
strictions after repeated tries.
It voted unanimously in De-
cember to propose the caps
for the third time since 2011,
leaving the final version of
the rule to a new commission

BYANDREWACKERMAN

House Moves to Stop Commodities Trade Caps

Opposed by Wall Street, the trading curbs are a longtime Democratic priority.

FINANCEWATCH

CHINA

Investment-Banking Revenue Hits Record

China’s investment-banking revenue hit a record $8.8 billion last year, which data provider Dealogic said is 26% higher than 2015. The country accounted for 12% of the global fee pool, itself a high. For equity-capital-markets transactions such as initial public offerings and share sales, China notched record volume of $215. billion, the data company said. Chinese banks are reaping thebenefits. No Western banks featured in the league tables ranking lenders in terms of their China investment-banking revenue in 2016. —Julie Steinberg

PALADIN ENERGY

Uranium Miner Plans Bond Restructuring

Australian uranium miner Pal- adin Energy Ltd. said it is pro- posing a restructuring of its bonds that will extend the re- payment deadline on its debts, after plans to sell a stake in a uranium mine in Namibia ran into difficulty. The company on Tuesday said a restructuring of US$362 million of convertible bonds would in- clude an equity raising and a 10- for-one share consolidation. Its outstanding bonds— US$212 million due this year and US$150 million due in 2020— would be exchanged for US$ million of secured bonds due in 2022, US$102 million of convertible bonds due in 2024 and US$145 million of new shares. The company said the proposal has the support of 57% of holders of its 2017 bonds and 41% of the holders of its 2020 bonds. Paladin will need the support of 75% of bondholders in each group. Paladin last year outlined plans to sell a 24% interest in the Langer Heinrich mine to CNNC Overseas Uranium Hold- ings Ltd., a unit of China National Nuclear Corp. for US$175 million to raise cash. Tuesday, the company said it remains in talks with CNNC, but that the likelihood of an agreement soon is low. —Rhiannon Hoyle

To reprint or license content, please contact our reprints and licensing department at +1 800-843-0008 or http://www.djreprints.com

wallstreetjournaleurope_20170111_The_Wall_Street_Journal___Europe

‘The Mooch’ Gets the Ear of Trump

Get our desktop app

Company

Features

Documentation

Resources