The English Schools Foundation, one of the largest education groups in Hong Kong, is looking for an investment advisor to help manage its endowment, according to people familiar with the matter. The ESF Group, which operates 22 schools in Hong Kong with some 18,500 students, recently reached out to firms to help it build its nascent endowment, according to the people, who declined to be named citi...
The English Schools Foundation, one of the largest education groups in Hong Kong, is looking for an investment advisor to help manage its endowment, according to people familiar with the matter. The ESF Group, which operates 22 schools in Hong Kong with some 18,500 students, recently reached out to firms to help it build its nascent endowment, according to the people, who declined to be named citing private discussions. The endowment’s assets were worth almost $400 million in August 2024, the last time the group disclosed its accounts. Cambridge Associates is currently acting as an advisor for the endowment, but in January the ESF approached other firms as part of a review into its investment framework, the people said. Cambridge may be appointed again after the review, one of the people said. ESF and Cambridge didn’t respond to requests for comment. The ESF has only in recent years started to build its endowment, which has largely been funded through the sale or transfer of residential properties in Hong Kong. It established the ESF Endowment, which includes a mix of real estate and investment assets, in the financial year that ended August 2021. The value of the school’s 198 housing units stood at HK$2.5 billion ($320 million) in the year ending August 2024, down from 201 units at HK$2.96 billion in 2021. Its investment assets went in the other direction, rising just over 13% to hit HK$587.7 million . Equity funds and hedge funds take up the biggest proportion in the investment portfolio.
Jordan Rochester earned the nickname “Mr. Brexit” for his prodigious market insights on the UK’s split from the European Union. Almost a decade later, his quick thinking as hostilities erupted in the Middle East has spurred another slew of profitable trading ideas. Rochester, now a macro strategist at Mizuho Bank, saw big market-disrupting implications as soon as the US-Israeli assault on Iran beg...
Jordan Rochester earned the nickname “Mr. Brexit” for his prodigious market insights on the UK’s split from the European Union. Almost a decade later, his quick thinking as hostilities erupted in the Middle East has spurred another slew of profitable trading ideas. Rochester, now a macro strategist at Mizuho Bank, saw big market-disrupting implications as soon as the US-Israeli assault on Iran began some four weekends ago. By the time trading started the following Monday, he was flipping his calls — shifting from a recommendation to go long UK interest-rate futures to shorting them instead, while also advising clients to sell the euro against the dollar and buy inflation protection in Europe as oil began to surge. “We had to get out of all of those trades,” Rochester said in an interview, regarding the about-face in his recommendations. “I just said to my team, ‘Sell them all, get out, do the opposite.” The strategist, working with colleagues Evelyne Gomez-Liechti and Masayuki Nakajima , had quickly concluded that the threat to energy supplies and resulting oil shock would be severe enough to potentially force central banks to raise rates to contain inflation — a stance not in reflected in markets. That early call proved prescient as well as lucrative for those who followed his advice: A month into the war, traders have swung from pricing in two UK interest-rate cuts this year to nearly three hikes, a dramatic turn that fueled one of the biggest bond selloffs in years. Rochester’s quick flip stands out at a time when investors who had built up bets on rate cuts were caught off guard, leaving prominent hedge funds, including Brevan Howard, nursing losses. For those who followed Mizuho strategist’s advice, the trades are paying off, even as gilts and other government bonds have retraced some of their losses. To be sure, Rochester isn’t the only one who could foresee that oil disruptions would complicate the picture for inflation and rate expectations, particularly in ...
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the 10 best stocks that recently issued new debt. On March 25, Citi increased its price target on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) from $265 to $285 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The firm has also raised its estimates for Amazon Web Services, driven by the ongoing need […]
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the 10 best stocks that recently issued new debt. On March 25, Citi increased its price target on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) from $265 to $285 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The firm has also raised its estimates for Amazon Web Services, driven by the ongoing need […]