Insight
Board Advisor’s Leadership Talk
Happy New Year
As 2021 draws to an end, I want to take the opportunity to look back on a year that turned out more differently than anyone could have imagined. While it was certainly challenging in many ways, it also showed how strong we are as a firm even in the toughest of times. The milestones that we have achieved this year are unprecedented in the history of our firm. We owe it all to our teams, who worked around the clock advising and serving our clients, proving one more time that our combined strength is what makes us successful as a company.
We take pride in the fact that when the pandemic brought the world to a halt and affected many people and organizations, the work we do helped them to stay afloat and made the difficult times, hopefully, a little easier. It was no easy task managing both the safety of our employees and the growth of our portfolio, all the while continuing to provide a superior customer experience and great investment opportunities.
By utilising our synergy, we were able to improve each department to cope with this tangible growth through training, coaching and guiding our work force, creating new alliances and strengthening our infrastructure. The reliability of the investments we provide and the quality of the service we offer define us. We rose to the challenge. We proved as an organization to be both robust and extremely flexible in the face of change and adversity. It is now already clear that we will have enjoyed a record year, by both portfolio size and assets under advisory management. This is important to us, as it tells us that we are becoming more widely recognised and valued within our industry as a key player.
AIX Investment Group is a fiduciary to its clients, helping them invest for long-term goals. Most of our fund advisory is for individuals and institutions, each have different needs at a different point in time – let it be for retirement planning, passive income generating, value-added asset creation, expense offset planning, future savings plan, lifestyle improvement, we are here to cater to their needs as their goals and objectives change with time. The trust our clients place in us, and our role as the link between our clients and the firm they invest in, gives us great responsibility to advocate on their behalf.
Over the past two years, AIX has been on a transformational journey, that has given us a strategic advantage, particularly in today’s environment. We were able to deliver the multidisciplinary strategies and solutions needed to respond and recover in the early stages of the pandemic, and as the world reopens, AIX is helping its clients adapt and strive.
From a business perspective in 2022, we will continue to create markets and growth opportunities, by focusing on offerings that are needed in this environment, whilst continuing to deliver the full breadth and depth of our multidisciplinary operating model that our clients depend on. We will work alongside all the teams involved and our objectives are to continue the strength of our firm and create lasting lucrative investment initiatives. We remain focused, passionate and determined to provide our valuable clients, with financial guidance, transparency, efficient service and above-market returns that will impact change for them and their organizations. We look forward to a healthy and fruitful financial year ahead, helping our stakeholders and community to transform their lives for a better future.
I hope, that when you’re celebrating the holidays with friends and family, that you look back on the year with the same sense of accomplishment that we all feel.
We wish you and your families a happy holiday season.
Economic Review 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, we reflect on a year of great success for our investors and stakeholders, despite the many unforeseen and novel challenges the world has been through in the recent past. This year began with a global focus on continued recovery, rebuilding supply chains and trade operations under new policies and operations, as the world became more normalized to the status quo. Lisa Shalett – Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Stanley – summarized the effects of this global focus, writing that 2022 is going to be a “critical year in which the imbalances wrought by the pandemic will likely begin to resolve and the business cycle normalizes”; This view is supported by several financial and economic indicators. For instance, analysts have estimated that S&P500 companies will post year-on-year earnings growth of nearly 50% in 2021, albeit following a year where earnings of most corporations experienced a very sharp decline. This spike in earnings shows that a large proportion of corporations were able to return to normal growth cycles, or at least to significantly improve on a turbulent 2020.
The shift towards new ways of conducting business accelerated growth in some previously niche sectors, such as DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and other Blockchain applications, as institutions and retail investors began exploring alternatives to traditional business and investing norms. The global trade environment seemed to have quickly overcome the initial effects of the pandemic and was rapidly accepting new solutions to replace established operation methods. However, issues such as new virus variants and fears of hyperinflation had an adverse effect on market sentiment throughout the year as investor confidence was shaken by the threat of increased uncertainty. This naturally translated into higher volatility in prices and growth rates across almost every asset class this year. A clear example can be seen in the market capitalization of Digital Assets which went from nearly US$500 billion in January to approximately US$2.2 trillion as the year draws to a close, even posting a new all-time high of over US$3 trillion by the end of the first half of 2021. The S&P500 index tells a similar story, with growth this year at around 25%, continuing the strong performance seen in the second half of 2020 where the entire Covid-crash price drop (the most severe in the index’s history) which took place in the first half was reversed and the index returned to pre-Covid levels. The recovery in business and trade all over the world means that global growth is set to be around 5.2% this year, making it the strongest post-recession performance in nearly 100 years. But this growth has not come without fear or uncertainty, with some theorizing that the U.S. equity market is being artificially propped up as a result of the U.S. Federal Reserve adding Trillions of dollars of new liquidity to the existing money supply in 2020 and 2021. These fears are not baseless; the U.S. inflation figures are at 4.2% for 2021 according to Fed measurements, and steep price inflation (and sharp correction) were common across many asset classes this year.
If anything, 2021 and all the volatility that came with it, is absolute proof of the rewards that come from building and sticking to a fundamental investing strategy, based on facts and years of market experience. Times of increased volatility and uncertainty are usually accompanied by a higher number of emotion-based investment decisions, which are in turn driven by increased fear and greed. When times are uncertain, having a trustworthy investment partner to help guide you to build sustainable sources of wealth can make all the difference. The amazing growth and increased recognition we experienced this year are a testament to the consistency and care we have shown our investors over the years and we enter the new year more focused than ever on being the number one investment partner of choice to our stakeholders.
AIX Properties Expands its Portfolio – Deyaar Developments
AIX Properties LLC expanded its portfolio by offering developments by Deyaar – one of Dubai’s leading property developers and has been in the real estate market for nearly two decades. This partnership delivers an extensive portfolio of commercial and residential properties to our clientele. Despite the market challenges and fluctuations, AIX Properties performed successfully over the year.
New Official Sponsor of La Liga team, RC Celta de Vigo
We strengthened our presence on a global scale as the Official Sponsor of RC Celta de Vigo, one of the renowned teams in La Liga Santander. This profound and strategic alliance reflects the importance of sport, a strong sense of community, the constant pursuance of excellence, and our commitment to building a better future.
The official partnership agreement is up to three years and includes the promotion and publicity of the AIX Investment Group at a global level on multiple static and dynamic channels of RC Celta. Our logo is on the sleeve of the First Team’s official jersey, and various productions of exclusive content are to follow.
RC Celta has been in La Liga Santander for ten consecutive seasons in the 1st Division. In 2023 RC Celta will celebrate its Centenary.
UAE 50th National Day
As the UAE commemorated 50 years since its formation, on 2nd December, we celebrated its remarkable journey and legacy. We are proud to be a part of this great nation and look forward to being part of its continued development in the years ahead.
We welcome RC Celta to AIX Investment Group
As a part of our brand new global collaboration, members of RC Celta – the La Liga Santander team visited our office in Dubai. Prominent players and official members were present. As the new official sponsor of RC Celta, the purpose of the visit was to reinforce the partnership, discuss our vision and explore new strategies.
Members who were present from RC Celta included midfielder Denis Suàrez, goalkeeper Matías Dituro, Sports Director Felipe Miñambres, Commercial Director Carlos Salvador Herrera, and PR and Communication Director Marco Rocha.
This profound and strategic alliance unfolded a new chapter for both parties. The partnership aligns both, RC Celta and AIX Investment Group for three years by combining the sports strength of the team and the worldwide dedicated financial advisory expertise of our firm.
Extended Cooperation with Al Mazmi Law Firm
We are delighted with the continued cooperation with Al Mazmi Law Firm. The exceptional, efficient design and implementation of appropriate measures and new licensing by their expert team has helped in the smooth functioning of our organization for the past decade, and we look forward to a great future with them.
AIX Corporate Activity – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The year concluded on a grand note at AIX Investment Group. Our team was at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Yas Marina, and it spanned over four days. Lined up for the four days were concerts, lavish dinners, parties, activities and the Formula One final race.
AIX Investment Group visit to RC Celta Headquarters
Members of our team visited Vigo, Spain as part of our international collaboration with RC Celta. They met with the senior management members and partners to discuss the tactical future of the collaboration, combining the sports strength of the team and the worldwide dedicated financial advisory expertise of our firm.
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die” Warren Buffet