Pablo Pardo (Washington) | Kenneth Fisher has been in the investment fund industry for more than four decades. His fund management company Fisher Investment, had $139 billion under management as of 31 March, while his personal fortune amounted to $5.4 billion as of 30 April, according to Forbes magazine.
Fernando Rodríguez López de Andújar | Isabel perez Nivela is vice-president for legal affairs at Coca Cola European Partners, the bottling company that last year had a turnover of 10.6 billion euros (-11%) and was already listed in Amsterdam. so “taking advantage of brexit, which forces us to have a European market of reference, we have domiciled (Coca-Cola EP) in Amsterdam, whose stock exchange is quadrupling its business volumes since the brexit agreement. Amsterdam also has other prerogatives for long-term shareholders, such as allowing loyalty shares and other corporate governance issues that are not allowed in london. there you almost have to apologise for having a dominical chairwoman, even if she is appointed by a shareholder with more than 30% of the capital”.
Lidia Conde (Francfort) | Christoph Schmidt, chairman of the Franco-German economic think tank for the past year – when he stepped down as chairman of the council of wise men advising the Berlin government – makes no secret of his concerns: “Both the European Green Deal and the Next Generation EU nourish the hope that Europe will emerge stronger from this crisis in the end. But between the EU’s ambitious plans and the final success, the final results, there is a long way to go. And on that road, member states will have to undertake the structural reforms that will increase their long-term growth potential and show their readiness to return to compliance with the stability and growth pact, with the debt rules”.
Tristan de Bourbon | “In some cities like Boston, on the coast, half the population and half the schoolchildren came from Eastern Europe. But it is true that immigration does not explain all of Lincolnshire’s Brexit vote. Look, even farmers, heavily subsidised by the European Common Agricultural Policy, voted for Brexit because they were fed up with all the European controls. The European system is totally absurd: you receive aid according to the area you own, whether you farm or not,” says Edward Leigh, Conservative MP, former Chairman of the British Public Accounts Committee.
Pablo Pardo| The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB) comprises 48 countries, has four official languages, and is the largest provider of development aid in the region. Its annual loan portfolio was around $15 Bn (more than €12 Bn) before the outbreak of Covid-19, which has boosted the institution’s activity due to the ravages of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Canadian-Brazilian Jorge da Silva has been the IDB’s Executive Auditor for eight years, where he heads a unit of 30 people dedicated to internal auditing.
Fernando Rodríguez | “Tourism, energy, food…In those sectors where we have people with a lot of knowledge and we are leaders, we should use the recovery funds to invest in technology to be stronger and more competitive. I think it is very difficult to transform a society from one day to the next and create companies that generate employment in sectors completely new. Our transformation must be gradual. We must take advantage of European funds to make an intelligent change of our strengths”, says Emma Fernández, board member of Metrovacesa, Asti and Axway.
Antonio Banda, CEO of Feelcapital, has already warned of the risk posed by the transposition into Spanish law of the Brussels rule that will allow the entry of pan-European funds. The rule, which comes into force next March, is “the great danger for Spanish fund managers”.
Manuel Moreno Capa | “We need to to act with unity to fight the crisis, preserving the institutional stability around the principles that in the last 45 years have made possible an unprecedented stage of development and progress in Spain,” says José Luis Bonet, president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. But in addition to preserving what has been achieved, he believes that “ambitious and consensual structural reforms must be tackled with broad majorities, allowing us to increase our potential growth in the coming years.”
Fernando Rodríguez | “Traditionally, the major correlation in stock markets has been between actual or expected corporate earnings and prices. Right now, for several years, the most direct correlation has been between the stock price of an index and the balance sheet of its respective central (…). Today the market is discounting that there is no limit to this race and futures are assuming a zero rates until 2030. I believe this has a limit and is not what the market thinks about,” explains Juan Carlos Ureta, Chairman of Renta 4.
Fernando Rodriguez | “When the Long Term Investment Directive appeared, analysts at JPMorgan or Fidelity received you in London with a smile… The ‘engagement’ was something already insisted on by the company. Where I hope it will have more impetus – the transposition of the directive – is with Spanish investors or funds, which are very passive. When you want to mobilise their vote, it much more difficult than it is with foreign funds, which have taken it more on board ,” explains Rafael Piqueras, chairman of Emisores Españoles* and a board member of Enagás.