Asia Pacific Media Coverage 12 September 2017 Pensions & Investments: T. Rowe adds head of Asia-Pacific multiasset solutions business The article noted that Thomas Poullaouec has joined T. Rowe Price from SSGA, where he served as Managing Director and Head of Strategy and Research in Asia-Pacific. SSGA is conducting an internal and external search to replace Mr. Poullaouec. On an interim basis, Kevin Anderson, Senior Managing Director and Head of Investments, Asia-Pacific, and Mark Wills, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Management, Asia-Pacific, will provide leadership for the strategy and research team. Simply WallST: Why Did Berendsen plc s (LSE:BRSN) Insiders Sell Their Own Shares? Berendsen plc, one of the UK s largest-cap stocks has seen some insider selling over the past three months. Insiders have divested more than 52 million shares during this period, which is a potentially a bearish signal. The article noted that SSGA is among several institutional investors that have sold Berendsen plc shares on the open market over the past three months. Bloomberg News (Japan): Interview with SSGA s George Milling-Stanley: North Korea risk not the only factor buoying gold prices In an interview, George Milling-Stanley, Head of Gold Strategy at SSGA, said that even if the North Korea problem was to be resolved overnight, the price of gold would potentially remain either at its current level or higher. This is due to mounting global uncertainty stemming from the US macroeconomy and various geopolitical risks. In a geopolitical crisis, it is understood that gold is able to retain its value whereas value in other assets decline. Therefore, from a strategic standpoint, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals are increasingly moving to include gold in their portfolios. STATE STREET CORPORATION 1
Full articles Pensions & Investments 2017-09-11 T. Rowe adds head of Asia-Pacific multiasset solutions business http://www.pionline.com/article/20170911/online/170919996/t-rowe-adds-head-of-apac-multi-assetsolutions-business-in-hong-kong Thomas Poullaouec was named head of the Asia-Pacific multiasset solutions business at T. Rowe Price in Hong Kong. The position is a new one and he joined Sept. 8, said a T. Rowe spokeswoman. Mr. Poullaouec comes to T. Rowe from State Street Global Advisors, where he served as managing director and head of strategy and research in Asia-Pacific. SSGA is conducting an internal and external search to replace Mr. Poullaouec, said an SSGA spokeswoman. On an interim basis, Kevin Anderson, senior managing director and head of investments, Asia-Pacific, and Mark Wills, managing director and head of portfolio management, Asia-Pacific, will provide leadership for the strategy and research team, she said. T. Rowe Price Group has $927 billion in assets under management. STATE STREET CORPORATION 2
Simply WallST 2017-09-11 Why Did Berendsen plc s (LSE:BRSN) Insiders Sell Their Own Shares? https://simplywall.st/news/2017/09/11/why-did-berendsen-plcs-lsebrsn-insiders-sell-their-own-shares/ Berendsen plc develops and provides textile, hygiene, and safety solutions in the United Kingdom and internationally. BRSN is one of United Kingdom s large-cap stocks that saw some insider selling over the past three months, with insiders divesting from more than 52 million shares during this period. It is widely considered that insider selling stock in their own companies is potentially a bearish signal. The MIT Press (1998) published an article showing that stocks following insider selling underperformed the market by 2.7%. But these signals may not be sufficient to gain confidence on whether to divest. I ve analysed two possible reasons driving the insiders decision to reduce their investment of late. Over the past three months, more shares have been sold than bought by Berendsen s insiders. In total, individual insiders own over 1 million shares in the business, which makes up around 0.68% of total shares outstanding. Insiders that have recently sold some of their shares are: Entities that sold on the open market in the last three months were Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, Alken Luxembourg Sarl, Arrowgrass Capital Partners LLP, BlackRock, Inc., BNP Paribas Arbitrage Sa, Asset Management Arm, Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC, Credit Suisse, Investment Banking and Securities Investments, FMR LLC, Franklin Resources, Inc., Kuwait Investment Authority, Legal & General Investment Management Limited, M&G Investment Management Limited, Moneta Asset Management, Royal London Asset Management Limited, Schroder Investment Management Limited, Silchester International Investors LLP, Societe Generale Group, Banking Investments, Standard Life Investments Limited, State Street Global Advisors, Inc., The Bank of Nova Scotia, Banking Investments, Veritas Investment Management LLP and Wellington Management Group LLP. Although these are institutional investors, rather than company executives or board members, the insights these investors gain from direct access to management as large investors would make them better-informed than the average retail investor. In this specific instance, I would classify these investors as company insiders. On the surface, analysts earnings growth projection of 23.30% over the next three years provides a positive outlook for the company. However this is inconsistent with the signal company insiders are sending with their net selling activity. Probing further into annual growth rates,brsn is expected to experience a rather subdued top-line growth over the next year, but a significantly higher expected earnings growth. This could indicate large cost-cutting initiatives by the company to boost its earnings. This may not be seen as a maintainable practice by insiders, who may expect a deterioration in earnings to reflect lower revenues growth in the future. Or they may merely view the stock as overvalued by the market which provides a suitable time to sell. Did Insiders Sell On Share Price Volatility? An alternative reason for recent trades could be insiders taking advantage of the share price volatility. Volatility provides an opportunity to trade on market inefficiencies when the stock is under-priced compared STATE STREET CORPORATION 3
to the stock s intrinsic value. Within the past three months, Berendsen s share price traded at a high of NaN and a low of NaN. This suggests Conclusion BRSN s insiders meaningful divestments tells us that their shares have recently fallen out of favour, though highly positive growth in expected earnings contests this assumption, However, it s important to keep in mind, insider selling may not necessarily be based on their belief of the company s ability to perform in the future. Insiders may sell for various reasons, from a new mortgage to funding their children s college education. Whereas for insiders buying, they re buying for one reason to increase their stakes in the company. Although insider selling can be a useful prompt, following the lead of an insider, however, will never replace diligent research. For a better understanding of whether Berendsen is a good investment, I recommend you look at our latest free analysis report on what really matters for BRSN the fundamentals. PS. If you are not interested in Berendsen anymore, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. STATE STREET CORPORATION 4
Bloomberg News (Japan) 2017-09-11 Interview with SSGA s George Milling-Stanley: North Korea risk not the only factor buoying gold prices STATE STREET CORPORATION 5