Man Group finance director Kevin Hayes steps down - BBC News Man Group finance director Kevin Hayes steps down - BBC News

Monday, June 18, 2012

Man Group finance director Kevin Hayes steps down - BBC News

Man Group finance director Kevin Hayes steps down - BBC News

Kevin Hayes has stepped down as finance director of struggling hedge fund firm Man Group on the day the company is demoted from the FTSE 100.

Jonathan Sorrell, Man's head of strategy and corporate finance, will replace him at Europe's largest listed hedge fund.

Man, whose shares have slumped, is being replaced in the FTSE 100 list of the UK's leading companies by Babcock.

Mr Hayes is leaving to pursue "other interests", Man said in a statement.

He joined Man in 2007.

Man Group shares have tumbled since the last FTSE review in March, and are down almost two-thirds since last year.

The firm's funds have struggled as cautious clients withdraw money because of the market turmoil caused by the eurozone debt crisis.

Mr Sorrell, son of WPP advertising chief Sir Martin Sorrell, spent more than a decade at Goldman Sachs before joining Man last August.

In a statement, Man chief executive Peter Clarke said Mr Sorrell's experience "will be extremely valuable as we continue to develop and evolve in challenging world markets".



China Finance Online Forms Exclusive Partnership with Baidu on Mobile Web Application - Yahoo Finance

BEIJING, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- China Finance Online Co. Limited ("China Finance Online", "the Company") (NASDAQ GS: JRJC), a technology-driven, user-focused market leader in China in providing vertically integrated financial information and services including news, data, analytics, securities investment advisory and brokerage-related services, today announced that its flagship portal site Stockstar.com ("Stockstar") has entered into an exclusive partnership with Baidu.com ("Baidu") on a mobile web application to provide financial information services.

Under the partnership, Stockstar and Baidu have launched a mobile web application integrating Stockstar's proven financial information services with leading internet technologies. The application allows users to access a variety of information on companies traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Pioneered in introducing HTML5 technology into developing financial information services, the application greatly enhances user experience of searching for and digesting financial information on mobile devices through a highly user-friendly system interface and lower requirement on data usage. Users are able to quickly and conveniently access information including company profile, trading data and charts, and company news without having to install any local application or account registration.

The web application went live in June 2012. Through the application, smartphones running on Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems are now able to access financial information by inputting company name or ticker into Baidu's search engine.

Mr. Zhiwei Zhao, Chairman and CEO of China Finance Online, commented, "This partnership speaks volumes about our leadership in financial information services and technologies. Stockstar is one of the most established financial portal sites in China with a proven track record in data processing, website optimization, and client development. As more Chinese are spending more time seeking market intelligence online, extending our competitive advantages to the mobile internet market is a natural choice.

"Meanwhile, we are excited to provide our timely, reliable and robust financial information services to Baidu users. Baidu is the No. 1 website in China with the largest user base and highest traffic rank. I am optimistic that by building on Baidu's powerful and far-reaching platform we will be able to expand our potential users and provide them with a better mobile experience in accessing financial information that is faster, cheaper and more streamlined," Mr. Zhao concluded.

About China Finance Online

China Finance Online Co. Limited is a technology-driven, user-focused market leader in China in providing vertically integrated financial information and services including news, data, analytics, securities investment advisory and brokerage-related services. Through its flagship portal sites, www.jrj.com and www.stockstar.com, the Company offers basic software and information services to individual investors which integrate financial and listed-company data, information and analytics from multiple sources. Leveraging on its robust internet capabilities and registered user base, China Finance Online is developing securities investment advisory and over time wealth management services. Through its subsidiary, Genius, the Company provides financial database and analytics to institutional customers including domestic brokerages and investment firms. Through its subsidiary, Daily Growth, the Company provides securities brokerage services in Hong Kong.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, this release contains the following forward-looking statements regarding:

  • our product upgrade and strategic transformation initiative;
  • cost-cutting initiative and its effect on efficiency and operational performance;
  • potential business consolidation amidst the new regulatory environment;
  • the market prospect of the business of securities investment advisory and wealth management; and
  • the transition period to adapt to the new compliance requirements.

Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following:

  • the changing customer needs, regulatory environment and market condition that we are subject to;
  • the uneven sector-growth of the Chinese economy that could lead to volatility in the equity markets and affect our operating results in the coming quarters;
  • the unpredictability of our strategic transformation and upgrade;
  • the competition we are facing in the new business of securities investment advisory and wealth management;
  • global macroeconomic uncertainties;
  • wavering investor confidence that could impact our business; and
  • possible non-cash goodwill, intangible assets and investment impairment may adversely affect our net income.

Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F under "Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors". The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

Contact:

Julie Zhu
China Finance Online Co. Limited
+86-10-5832-5288
ir@jrj.com

Shiwei Yin
Grayling
+1-646-284-9474
shiwei.yin@grayling.com



Masters in Finance: Edhec and Guanghua in pre-experience rankings - Financial Times

The demand for highly qualified finance professionals is increasing. As companies seek to navigate the worst of the economic storm, sound knowledge of financial tools and strong analytical skills are essential requirements.

This year sees the second Financial Time Masters in Finance rankings, compiled using the data from business schools and from a survey of their alumni who graduated three years ago.

The rankings include 35 pre-experience programmes for those with little or no experience, and four post-experience programmes for professionals who wish to develop their skills further.

In the pre-experience ranking, 31 schools are located in Europe with the majority of these in the UK (11) or France (seven). Three schools from the US and one from China complete the rankings.

The post-experience ranking is made up of one school based in the UK, and three for the US.

As in 2011, HEC Paris and London Business School top the rankings for pre-experience programmes and post-experience programmes respectively. HEC Paris was ranked first for value-for-money and placement success. It features among the top five places in three other criteria. London Business School tops the ranking for value-for-money, international mobility and international course.

A number of entrants feature in both rankings, notably, Edhec Business School in France and the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University enter the pre-experience ranking for the first time in sixth and eighth position respectively.

George Washington University and the Chapman Graduate School of Business at Florida International University make their entry in the post-experience ranking in second and fourth place respectively.

IE Business School in Spain is ranked second in the pre-experience ranking, the same place as in 2011. It is ranked first for career progress. On the other hand, only 9 per cent of its students are women, the lowest percentage in the ranking.

IE shares the second place with Essec Business School from France, which gained one place from the 2011 ranking.

Brandeis University is the highest ranked school from the US, at number 17 in the pre-experience ranking. It comes second for international mobility and sixth for aims achieved. However, with 62 per cent, it has the lowest rate of employment three months after graduation.

Peking University is the only school from China that features. It is ranked third for value-for-money and placement success and has a 100 per cent employment rate three months after graduation. However, it has the lowest international diversity rate for faculty and students.

Based on purchasing power parity rates used to convert all salaries into US dollars, students from Peking University also commanded the highest average annual salary at $96,800 three years after graduation, narrowly relegating the students from HEC Paris to the second highest.

The student survey showed that more than 95 per cent of its graduates work in finance in China.

Some 1,200 students who attended programmes at the 35 schools in the pre-experience ranking completed the FT survey.

The results provide useful insights on the profile of the average student: he is male and either French or Chinese.

When starting the course, he is 24 years old and has been working in finance for a year, most likely in accounting or investment banking, mergers and acquisitions as a graduate trainee with a salary of about €20,000.

Three years after graduation, he is likely to work in London in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions as a junior professional with a salary of £50,000.

Looking beyond averages, the data shows significant differences for students’ mobility. For example, 60 per cent of students in French schools were from France, but only 9 per cent of students in UK schools were British.

And only 9 per cent of overseas students who studied in France remained there in employment compared with 27 per cent of those who studied in the UK.

More than half who studied overseas returned to their home country after graduating and more than 80 per cent of them still work there three years later.

Just over half of students who studied overseas chose the UK and more than 40 per cent of graduates who work overseas are in the UK. This is hardly surprising, considering about 900 foreign-owned groups operate in the UK financial industry, according to a report by IMAS in January 2012.

Nonetheless, only 3 per cent of the students who completed the survey are from the UK. This compares with 13 per cent from both China and France. Cultural differences between these countries may explain this gap.

Students in the UK typically study humanities, whereas in China and France university education emphasises mathematics – the latter being better suited to financial techniques.


No comments:

Post a Comment